


Alchemists in Manhattan

by Dt25741



Series: A Tale of Two Worlds [1]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Gargoyles (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Because Ed and Al are spanners in the works, Blood and Gore, Character Study, Crossover, Debates about nature of the soul, Developing Friendships, Gen, Post-Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa, Post-Season/Series 02, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Survivor Guilt, Things don’t go as anyone planned, Wake-up Call Boss, equivalent exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-09-20
Packaged: 2019-05-28 07:24:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 46,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15043718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dt25741/pseuds/Dt25741
Summary: During their search for a way home, brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric stumble across the Phoenix Gate and are whisked away to Avalon. There, they meet the Fairy Queen, who agrees to return their Alchemy and help them find a way back... for a price. They are assigned to go to Manhattan and find a warrior named Goliath. Seems simple enough... right?





	1. The Brothers and the Gargoyles

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a freshmen in college who is working on two other complex crossover fics, yet I decided to do this...  
> This story will be a three part one-shot. It takes place after Conqueror of Shamballa and Gargoyles: season 2. I hope guys you like it!  
> Edit: as of 10/25/18, I made some adjustments to the story. Mainly grammatical issues (though I'm positive I've missed a few) and making it so that the paragraphs are indented the same. Organically I copy-pasted from Microsoft, but for some reason the website won't perceive all the tabs. Guess I won't bother to indent on my stories from now on. Anyway, hope you all enjoy this little experiment!

_“We all have our excuses and they seem right to us. No one would have thought it would lead to suffering like this... That's why we have to make it right... We can't keep living like our own dreams are all that matter.”_

_Edward Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa_

_"One thousand years ago, we lived in a world that understood our purpose. It was the age of Gargoyles. Ten centuries later, we awoke to a world bent on our destruction. Somehow, we never lost hope, and today we come full circle. A new age has begun, and we live again." Goliath, Gargoyles the Goliath Chronicles: Angels in the Night_

 

**October 29 th, 1996**

The air was cool as the October wind blew in Manhattan. The skyscrapers towered of the citizens, leaving them in the shadows of corporations and businesses. Even though the late afternoon sun was still shining down, the people outside shuddered and hurried to get to their destination. The five o'clock traffic was growing strong, and there was the occasional honk of a horn and the angry shout of a driver in the middle of the congested lane.

In the shadow of the skyscrapers of New York City, two hooded young men were walking. They were both dressed in black from head to toe, with a coat worn on top for good measure. The shorter boy wore a crimson duster, with the mark of a cross wrapped in a snake woven in the back, while the taller boy wore a deep blue cloak with a similar symbol on the back as the other.

The boy in the blue duster spoke. “Wow… these automobiles are really advanced, aren’t’ they brother?”

The boy in red nodded. “Yeah… I guess it really is 1996…”

"To think that pendant actually had the power to take us through time…”

 The boy in red didn’t answer right away, immersed in his own thoughts.

_They had been in exploring an ancient castle in Germany when they had come across it. A blue, golden hemmed talisman with a phoenix engraved on it. The runes written on the back remained him of a Transmutation formula, so of course, he had to investigate. His little brother protested, but as usual, he didn't listen. You'd think he'd listen to his brother more after everything they've gone through, but old habits die hard. He read the inscription on the back, "Deslagrate muri tempi et intervalia!” And just like that, before they had even known what had happened, a ball of fiery light consumed the both of them, burning everything else within their vision…_

 "Brother?" the other boy said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

The boy in red shook his head. “I’m fine. Let’s just get to where we need to go. Where was it again?”

“She said it was the Eyrie Building….”

 The short boy grunted. “And where is that exactly?”

“Supposedly, it’s the tallest building in the world… the one with the castle that reaches above the clouds…”

“Sounds like a fairy tale….” The older boy scoffed.

 The younger boy nodded. "I thought that too… but considering all we've seen… we've got to assume anything is possible."

 “We’re Alchemists, Al. We can’t believe anything until we see it ourselves.”

Alphonse chuckled at him. "I suppose that's true. So… shall we get going, Ed?"

Edward smiled back at him, despite himself. “Right behind you, Al.”

It turned out it wasn’t hard finding the Eyrie Building. They just had to ask a few people for directions to learn that the building was south of Central Park, apparently one of the biggest tourist attractions in the world. It was all so strange though. The cars, the buildings, the lights… it wasn't like anything they had ever seen before. In the windows of shops, they saw things they never could have even imagined existing back in their time. Boxes with glass screens that showed moving pictures. Toys that moved by wireless signals. Shopping centers that had scanners of some kind. It was very fascinating, and if they had had the time, they would have tried to stop and analyze this strange technology, get to know the scientific principles behind them. But they weren’t in this city to learn about new technology. They were on a mission to find someone. Someone who could be found on the Eyrie Building.

 Eventually, the boys found themselves at the foot of an enormous building, staring in awe at the massive structure of concrete and glass above them.

“I… I can’t even see the top from here…” Alphonse said. “Why would they make something like this? What’s the point?”

 "Probably the work of someone with a raging ego," Edward said. "Probably compensating for something…"

  Alphonse snorted. “You mean like how you compensate for your height with platform shoes?”

 “Shut it” Edward curtly replied. “The sooner we can find this ‘Goliath’ guy the better.”

  _When the ball of fire vanished from their vision, they were on a beach of lush, green island. After a few minutes of confusion, panic, and hysterics, they decided to go explore the island. As weird as it was, there was something mysterious about the island. Both could fell a certain power in the air. It was almost like they were passing through the Gate again…_

_After some time looking around the island, there was a sudden blinding flash of light, and a booming voice rumbled in their ears. “WHO DARES SET FOOT ON THE ISLE OF AVALON WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE GREAT AND POWERFUL OBERON?”_

_When their vision cleared, the boys were facing two strange people, a man, and a woman. The man was gigantic (though Al would say that Ed was just short), and dressed in golden and red armor and a white cape that reminded him of a king. But the strangest thing about the man was his icy, blue skin and snow-white hair tied into a top-knot. It was like the man spent several centuries frozen in ice. The woman was just as strange, dressed in a form-fitting red dress that bore her mid-riff, gold shoulder-pads and headdress, and a pale-yellow cape. Her hair was as red as the rest of her clothes, and her skin was a grassy green. Were they even human?_

_“Who are you?” Edward had yelled._

_“Are you Homunculi?” Alphonse asked, his brown eyes wide with fear._

_The blue man’s eye twitched. “You speak in the presence of Oberon, the King of the Fair Folk. Who are **you** , ignorant mortals?”_

_Defiance boiled in Edward’s blood, but before he could shout, an inexplicable urge to obey washed over the boys, and before they even thought twice, they told them the truth._

_“Edward Elric. Son of Van Hohenheim and Trisha Elric. State Alchemist of the Amestris military, and physics student at the University of Berlin.”_

_“Alphonse Elric. Son of Van Hohenheim and Trisha Elric. State Alchemist of the Amestris military, and archaeology student at the University of Berlin.”_

_“Wait, my love.” The green woman cut in, putting her arm in front of her husband. “Van Hohenheim… I’ve met this man they speak of.”_

_“Oh?” the blue man crowed._

_“Indeed” the woman replied. “He was an advisor for Winston Churchill in the Great War. He was a rather fascinating man, and I even considered adding him to my line of human lovers, but he refused my advances. He said his heart belonged to only one woman."_

_“What an odd human” the blue man. “Refusing a lady such as you, my queen.”_

_“I found his devotion charming," the woman said with a smile. "And even if we never became partners, he was an interesting human to talk to. I hadn't known he had children."_

_Edward tried to say something, but it was like an iron hand had locked around his jaw and his limbs. He couldn’t speak or move, no matter how hard he tried. The worst part was that he still had enough freedom to panic, and he could feel his heart in his throat as the two strange beings talked about him and his brother like they weren’t even there. He couldn’t turn his head to face Alphonse, but he didn’t have to try hard to imagine the fear he was feeling._

_“What is this Amestris you speak of?” the blue man asked, and once again, the overwhelming urge to obey filled Edward’s being._

_"It's our home country," Edward said. "Where we were born."_

_The green woman raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never heard of this country. And I’ve been all over the world. Where is it?”_

_“That’s because it isn’t in this world," Alphonse answered. "It’s the world on the other side of the Gate.”_

_The two strange people blinked at them. “What is this ‘Gate’ you speak of?” The woman asked._

_“The Gate of Truth…” Edward was forced to answer. “It holds all the knowledge in existence. It’s where we all come from when we’re born, and where we’ll go when we die. It’s what connects our world to this one, and it provides power for Alchemy.”_

_The woman took a few steps forward, looking at Edward with a quizzical expression. Then, she smiled. “Well, it looks like some interesting young men have washed ashore on Avalon.”_

_The man gave the woman a knowing smirk. “I know that expression on your face, my Queen. What mischief are you plotting now?”_

_The Queen turned to her husband, “My King, undo your command spell on these young men. I wish to speak with them, as themselves.”_

_The King nodded. “Very well, my Queen.” And with that, the pressure on the boys disappeared._

_Immediately, Edward growled and charged at the King, shouting, “What did you do to us, you son of a-!” But before his fist could connect, the ground beneath Edward turned to sand, and he sank to his waist._

_As he struggled to get out, the King laughed at him. "You have some courage to charge at the King of Fairies with nothing but your fists." Then, the blue man's expression turned cold. "But courage alone won't save you. If not for the fact that my wife was curious about you, your outburst would have left you and your brother dead where you stand. Since you seem to have no knowledge of who you stand before, I'll clarify. I can destroy you in a thousand ways with nothing but a gesture. I can make the heavens shake with a word and petrify a city with a sentence. I’ll show mercy for your first offense, but the next time you decide to show such rudeness to the mighty Oberon, you won’t be so fortunate.” And in flash of light, he was gone._

_Edward growled as he got out from the sand. “Yeah, you better run!” he screamed into the night._

_The woman laughed at his rage, and Alphonse ran up to him and grip his shoulder. “Brother are you okay?”_

_Forgive my husband.” The green woman said. “He demands respect at all times from everyone, even if he’s done nothing to warrant it.”_

_"Who are you, people?!" Edward growled. "What are you?"_

_The woman laughed again. “Perhaps I should properly introduce myself. I am Titania, the Queen of the Third Race and second in command of the Isle of Avalon.”_

_Alphonse blinked at her in confusion. “The… Third Race?”_

_"You humans have many names for our kind," Titania said, taking a few steps towards them. "The Norse called us the Dark Elves. The Celtic called us the Fair Folk. We've also been called Fairies, The Good Neighbors, The Other Crowd, Daoine Sídhe, gods, among others.”_

_Edward and Alphonse shared a disbelieving look, and then looked back at Titania. "Okay, I'll make myself clear," Edward said. "What are you, really?"_

_"So, you disbelieve my words," Titania stated, as she slowly pointed a figure to the sky. "Perhaps a demonstration of my power will erase any doubts." With that, all the ground and the trees around them turned to sparkling diamond before their eyes._

_“What the hell?!?” Edward screamed, bending down and knocking at the diamond ground as hard as he could to confirm what had just happened._

_“Impossible…” Alphonse whispered, staring at Titania with shaking eyes. “She… she transmuted everything, even organic matter, into pure diamond.”_

_Edward glared at the so-called Fairy Queen. “How did you do that?! Alchemy shouldn’t work on this side of the Gate, and even if it did, you didn’t follow the Law of Equivalent Exchange or the Law of Providence!”_

_The Fairy Queen merely chuckled at his insolence. “Young one, I don’t know what this Alchemy you speak of can do, but you have much to learn in the ways of magic.”_

_“Magic?” Alphonse said. “How…?”_

_“Come now” Titania interrupted. And with a wave of her hand, three chairs appeared before them in a flash of light. “Why don’t we talk this out like civilized mortals? I’m sure you have much you wish to ask me, and I know I have much I wish to ask you.”_

_As Titania took a seat, Edward and Alphonse shared an uncomfortable look. What did this woman want really? She seemed to just want information, but if what she showed them was any indication, she could kill them with just a look. How were they going to get out of this?_

_“Well don’t just stand there!” Titania crowed incredulously._

_Alphonse sighed. “She did say she just wanted some information, Brother. And we do need to find out where we are.”_

_“Equivalent Exchange.” Edward finished his line of thought, and with a shared nod at the other, the brothers sat down on the chairs facing Titania._

_"Well then, children," Titania said. "Kindly start by telling me about this Alchemy…”_

They walked up the stairs to the Eyrie building and into the lobby. They needed to get to the top of the tower, and the stairs and elevators were right there in front of them, but a guard was holding a rifle in front of the elevators and even more on the stairs. It was a miracle the two of them got behind the pillar before the guards could notice them.

“Shit…” Edward groaned. “How’re we gonna get past ‘em…?”

“Let's find another way in" Alphonse suggested. "Maybe the backdoor has fewer guards..."

They walked out the door and went around the building, careful to avoid any unwanted attention. Just as Alphonse predicted, there was a much smaller backdoor, with a concrete wall with an opening surrounding it. There was only one guard standing at the door.

Edward had to resist the urge to let out a cheeky giggle as they pressed themselves close to the concrete wall, hiding the brothers from the guard’s sight. “I guess even in 1996, nobody cares about the backdoor.”

“More things change, more things stay the same…” Alphonse added.

“Now go bring him over here for me to knock him out” Edward ordered.

Alphonse did a double-take. “Wait, what?” he protested. “Why me?!”

“I look too much like a thug” Edward shrugged. “If I try to distract him, he’ll call the police. You on the hand, still look like a little kid.  If he thinks you’re in trouble, he’ll cave immediately.”

“I am a seventeen-year-old State Alchemist!” Alphonse hissed. “I think that more than qualifies me as an adult, Big Brother!”

“It would” Edward nodded. “In Amestris. This is America. And even in America, you still look like a prepubescent snot, and your voice still cracks.”

“My voice does not crack!” Alphonse retorted, his voice suddenly raising to the octave of a bleating goat.

“Al! You’re gonna get us noticed! Suck it up and do it!”

“Fine!” Alphonse huffed. He took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes, concentrating as hard as he could on getting into character. Then, without warning, he dashed into the opening like the Devil himself was at his heels.

“Help!” Alphonse shrieked. “Help! He’s gonna kill me!”

“Wha?” Edward heard the guard say.

“ _He’s gonna kill me!_ ” Alphonse screamed, so hard his voice cracked, making Edward snicker. “Stop him, please!”

The sound of stomping boots warned Edward of the approaching guard, and he crouched low to prepare for the kill. Then, the guard ran out the entrance. “Where?”

Before the guard could even turn, Edward cracked a maniacal grin, and he pounced. "Here!" he cried. The guard only had enough time to turn his head to get a face full of Edward's right arm. The guard was sent flying a few feet before crashing into a garbage can, spilling trash everywhere. There was a groan as the guard lifted his head slightly, before falling into unconsciousness.

“Amazing performance, Al!” Edward called, giving a thumbs-up to his brother at the door.

“I feel mean” Alphonse pouted. “He was just doing his job…”

“And we’re just doing ours” Edward shrugged. “It wasn’t anything personal.”

Alphonse nodded reluctantly before turning his attention to the door. “Did he have keys on him?”

There were sounds of movement from behind the concrete fence. “No!” Edward called, turning the corner and running to Alphonse.

Alphonse sighed as he clapped his hands together. “Okay then. If the entrance is sealed, we’ll make another.” With that, he pressed his palms into the door.

….

When most people wanted to relax, they watched TV. When David Xanatos wanted to relax, he locked himself in his laboratory in the highest laboratory of his castle. He wasn’t even entirely sure what he wanted to make. He was just tinkering with various weapons and electronics on his Steel Clan Exo-frame and seeing what would happen with each change. Sure, one might say doing that without calculating beforehand was inefficient, but he would argue that some of the greatest scientific advancements were made by experimentation and accidents. Besides, he needed some time to unwind after the events of the past week. Between the gargoyles moving back in after being exposed to the world at large, the Quarrymen and the media breathing down his neck, and all on top of raising a newborn child and running a company bigger than many countries, the CEO had many reasons to be stressed. Even he needs to take it easy every now and again. It didn’t hurt that he knew how to mix his work and pleasure.

Xanatos hummed as he rewired a few circuits along the back and shoulder of the armor. Hopefully, if he got this right, his reaction time in the armor would be less sluggish, and he could outpace even the likes of Demona in the air. He closed the hatch on the back of the armor and walked over to the computer. Now, he needs to do was type in a few commands and…

Suddenly, there was whirring from the armor as it rolled its shoulders. Xanatos sat down on his desk as he observed, taking a sip from the mug of coffee he put there with a satisfied sigh. It seemed to be moving a bit faster than it was before, so now all he needed to do was test it while he was inside….

Xanatos stretched his arm a little on the desk, and before he noticed, his fingers bumped onto the keys of his computer.

“Shit!” Xanatos cried in surprise. Before he could say anything more, the armor’s arms started jerking and failing in random directions. Xanatos sprung in front of the computer and furiously typed a stop command into the system. The armor obeyed, but not before its arm hit the wall with so much force that the entire room shook, causing the objects stored on the shelves above to rattle. To Xanatos’s horror, one of the shelves caved, causing the box it was carrying to fall to the ground with a loud crash. 

Xanatos ran over to the fallen box, and threw its partly open lid, he could see something made of grey stone inside. He opened the box entirely, peering inside to look at the precious sample, and sighed when it turned out it wasn't broken. Parts like that were one of a kind, and after he stripped the site of Castle Wyvern brick by brick, he doubted he could find anymore than he already did. It may not be useful for making robots, but it helped him understand the gargoyles better. Not that it would impress them if he told them that. In fact, if he knew he was keeping this, they would probably drop him from the top of the Eyrie Tower…

“Mr. Xanatos?” a familiar voice called. Xanatos turned to see the blonde, bespectacled form of his assistant standing at the entrance of the lab.

“Owen?” Xanatos said, eyebrow raised in confusion. “Something wrong?”

“Look at this security footage that was recorded a moment ago.” Owen curtly said, turning on one of the screens on the wall. “We have some uninvited guests.”

Xanatos did so, his eyes watching the view of his lobby that the overhead camera. For a moment, nothing happened, making him wonder what Owen was talking about. Then, two hooded figures, one in red and one in blue, opened the door to his building and immediately ran to hide behind a pillar, out of the guards’ line of sight.

“You’re getting worked up over some mischievous children?” Xanatos said flatly, looking unimpressed at his assistant. "I know we said we'd be on the lookout for any Quarrymen, but don't you think you're a bit paranoid?”

"Look at camera 5-D now, sir" Owen replied, pointing back at the corresponding screen.

Xanatos obeyed his subordinate. The duo was at the back door now, hiding behind the brick wall that bordered the back entrance. Suddenly, the blue figure ran up to the guard, screaming his head off, prompting the guard to run to the opening in the wall, where the red figure was waiting to punch him in the head. Xanatos grunted in both sympathy and annoyance as the guard was knocked into the garbage cans.

“Damn…” Xanatos muttered. “These kids aren’t joking around are they…?”

"That's not all," Owen said, as the figure in blue clapped his hands and pressed them to the door. There was a flash of blue-white light like a star was suddenly born in the back alley. The light disappeared, and to Xanatos’s shock, the door was gone. The blue figure nodded at the red figure, and they both ran inside.

Xanatos glared at what he just saw. “That was magic…”

 “Indeed” Owen confirmed with an adjustment of his glasses. “Though it wasn’t like any I’ve seen a human do. He didn’t use any incantations or an amplifier.”         

“That’s odd… Could they be Children of Oberon?” Xanatos muttered to himself. He looked at his assistant. “Where are they now?”     

“The elevator.”

Xanatos pressed a button on his remote, and sure enough, he saw the two boys standing in the elevator. Now that the camera was closer, he could make out things about them that he could see before.

The boy in red was rather short, standing at about 5’2” by Xanatos’ estimations. He looked about fifteen, but since Xanatos had trouble telling the exact ages of teenagers, he couldn’t be sure. He had long golden hair that was tied in a ponytail that hung down his shoulders, with long bangs that framed either side of his face. Underneath his red overcoat, the boy wore a black jacket that connected at the top with a button, black trousers, black leather boats, and white gloves over his hands. But the most curious thing about him was his golden eyes. Xanatos blinked to make sure he didn't see things, but he was right. Pure, golden eyes. If there was any sign that this wasn't a normal human boy, it was that.

The boy in blue was a bit taller than the other, standing at about 5’5”. He couldn’t be older than thirteen, and judging by his similar build and face, he had to have been the other boy’s brother. He tied his hair in a ponytail like his sibling, but it was a few shades darker in blonde, almost brown, and was parted in bangs on the left side of his face. He wore a black outfit with white gloves under his blue overcoat, like his brother. However, his jacket was fastened by a row of four smaller buttons, and he wore loafers instead of boots. This made him look a bit more formal than the other boy. Further differentiating the two was that his eyes were a light brown, not gold.

“It seems they're going up to the top floor," Owen said.

"Good," Xanatos said, pressing another button on his desk.  He’d talk to these children first to see what they wanted, but just in case, he’d have the Steel Clan on standby. “Get me a pistol, Owen. I’ll deal with this myself.”

“What about Ms. Maza?” Owen asked. “She’s waiting for Goliath.”

“Go down and warn her while I deal with our guests. I think I have this under control, but just in case, I want her and the rest of the Clan to be ready for the worst.”

…

“How many floors are in this building?” Edward groaned impatiently, eyeing the numbers on the elevator as they went higher and higher.

"We’ll get there when we get there, Brother” Alphonse sighed. “She said we’d find him on the top floor.”

“‘On the top floor of the Eyrie Building, you’ll find a castle above the clouds. You’ll find the clan there. They’re led by Goliath, the greatest warrior alive. If you can win him over, the rest of them will accept you.’ Ugh, could she at least have used that pendant to send us there instantly instead of making us use that rickety boat?”

“I’m more annoyed that she forgot to tell us what Goliath and his clan looked like.” Alphonse deadpanned.

 “I know, right?” Edward exclaimed. “What kind of description is, ‘Believe me, you’ll know him when you see him?’”

"Honestly, I was kind of too scared to ask more," Alphonse said with a shudder. "I got the feeling that woman could blink, and I’d blow up.”

“Sad thing is, you probably aren’t wrong” Edward sighed. “Still, she gave us our Alchemy back, so she was at least useful. Even if she can’t find that way home, we can find the correct transmutation ourselves. If Dante could do it, we can.”

"She kind of reminds me of her," Alphonse said. "Titania does anyway…"

“Yeah…” Edward muttered. “She didn’t seem as malevolent though.”

“Still, we should be wary. Who knows what she’s up to?”

Edward nodded. “Yeah…”

They were silent for a moment, and when Edward looked back up at the floor number. “God damn… it’s going to be sundown by the time we get up there….”

Alphonse scuffed at him. “Gee, I wonder whose fault that is, Brother? Maybe you shouldn’t have spent so long at that fabric store.”

 Edward gave him a dirty look. "I don't know what you mean."          

 “‘I’m sick of wearing these fancy overcoats, Al!’” Alphonse mocked, his voice a whiny parody of his brother’s. “‘I just want my sweet red coat back! It’ll only take a minute, I swear!’ We were in there for half an hour, Ed!”           

“Ah, quit your whining!” Edward replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. “You chose to make that blue coat of yours out of the same kind of fabric I found.”           

“Whatever” Alphonse grunted with a roll of his eyes.           

The elevator dinged.           

“We’re here” Edward declared.

…           

The room they stepped inside looked like an odd mix of a 10th century stone castle and an executive office. The walls were made up of grey stone blocks, with various armaments and shields hung up on the wall and a pair of grey rafters built into the far wall.  The floor was made of smooth tile and beautiful carpet of blue and grey patterns. Underneath the rafters were a pair of blue and purple tapestries hang on either side of a fireplace. Resting on a few stone steps in front of this fireplace was a polished wooden desk with two chairs tucked away beneath it.           

Edward looked around, taking in the room before him. “Huh… the owner must have made some renovations when he had this castle installed…”           

“Where is everyone?” Alphonse wondered. “This looks like the main hall of the building, but no one’s here…”           

“It’s a big building, Al” Edward shrugged, eying the exit on the other end of the room. “Let’s look around.”           

Alphonse nodded and followed Edward to the exit. As they opened the door, the cool evening air hit them, making them shiver a bit despite their coats as the brothers stepped outside. A square courtyard of dull grey stone was waiting for them, with a wall forming the perimeter. To the right was a flight of stairs that lead to another patio. The walls to their left and in front of them opened in an archway, leading to other sections of the castle that the brothers couldn’t see at their angle.           

“Hello?” Alphonse called. “Is anybody here?”           

“Al!” Edward hissed. “Are you trying to get us noticed?”          

“Yes!” Alphonse hissed back. “Remember, we’re looking for a person, and we don’t even know what he looks like!”           

“But if the guards catch us, they’ll kick us out!” Edward retorted.           

“But we have to talk to  _someone!_  Otherwise, we’re just wondering in a creepy castle with no idea what to do!”           

“But we can’t find who we’re looking for if we’re kicked out!” Edward growled.           

 “And just who exactly  _are_ you looking for?” a voice that wasn’t either of the brother’s cut in.           

Edward and Alphonse turned their heads and leaning on the archway was a man in a black, custom-made suit. The man wore his dark brown hair long, tied back in a ponytail not unlike Edward’s, and sported a neatly trimmed goatee. He was quite handsome if Edward was honest, but the man carried himself with a cool arrogance that made his stomach twist. It reminded of him of Mustang at his most annoying…           

Edward and Alphonse shared a look, before nodding in a silent agreement and looking back at the man. "Depends on whose asking," Edward replied.           

"You're talking to the owner of this Tower," the man said, taking himself off the archway and walking over to the boys. He stopped just close enough for Edward to see how tall the man was… at least a foot and a half taller than Edward himself (not that he was short or anything!). "David Xanatos, founder, owner, and CEO of Xanatos Enterprises. Surely, you’ve heard me.”

 Edward shook his head. “Afraid not. We’re… from out of town…”           

Xanatos grunted. "Even so, surely they have laws against trespassing where you're from. Unless you've broken into a cooperation building before."           

Immediately, Edward tensed and crouched a bit, getting ready to fight or run. “That’s a bold accusation, Mr. Xanatos.”           

“Not so much an accusation as a fact” Xanatos retorted, narrowing his eyes at Edward. “I saw you knock out a guard and break down the door with magic.”           

 Alphonse’s eyes widened. “How did you see that?” he said in disbelief.           

"The security camera," Xanatos said simply.           

“The hell’s a security camera?” Edward asked.           

 "It's a device that allows people to view and record events around a building without having to be there," Xanatos  answered, folding his arms across his chest. “You really aren’t from around here are you?”           

Alphonse shook his head. “We’re sorry for breaking in, but we have to find someone. If you can point us in his direction, we’ll be on our way and repair any damages.”           

Xanatos raised an eyebrow. “And just who are you looking for?”           

Edward gave a weary sigh, taking a few steps closer to Xanatos and looking at him right in the eye. It was meant to show that he meant business, but the business man’s towering height completely ruined the intended effect. “We’re looking for someone named Goliath. We were told we’d find him and his clan at this building.”           

Xanatos’s eyes narrowed even further. “Are you Quarrymen?” he suddenly asked.           

Edward raised his eyes in confusion. “What’s a Quarryman?”           

Xanotos stared at Edward for a moment, and his eyes softened. “You really don’t know… Well, I'll rule out Castaway hiring you then…”           

“What are you taking about?” Edward demanded.           

“It’s none of your concern” Xanotos replied dismissively. “Why are you looking for Goliath?”           

“So you do know who he is," Alphonse said. "We were sent here by someone named Titiania.”           

At that named, Xanatos flinched and stared at the boys in a mix of shock, confusion, and caution. “Titania?!” Suddenly, Xanatos jumped back from the boys and glared at them. “What do Oberon and Titania want  _now_? We already agreed Alexander would be trained by Puck. So help me, if they’re trying to steal him again…!”           

“The hell are you on about?” Edward cried. “She just wanted us to talk to Goliath. She said if we could help him out, she’d get us back home.”           

Xanatos gave an exasperated sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Titania, what are you scheming now…?” he whispered to himself. He looked back at the boys. “Okay… are you sure you have no plans on killing Goliath when you see him?”  

“No!” Alphonse replied with a shout. “Why would kill the one person who could get us home?”           

Xanatos’s eyes shifted from Edward to Alphonse and then back again. “All right, I’ll bite.” he said with a shrug, looking at Alphonse. “You seem too honest to lie.” His eyes shifted to Edward. “And you seem too hot-headed.”           

Edward’s eye twitched. “What’s that supposed to mean?”           

"It means I'll take you to go see him" Xanatos sighed. “Just behave yourselves. I might be patient, but Goliath and the other clan members have quite the tempers on them. If you anger them, I won’t step in and help you, trespassers."

…           

Xanatos took them through the archway and into a stone tower with a spiral staircase. Throughout the trip, Xanatos kept trying to pry the brothers for details about their mission and their past.           

“So where exactly are you from?” Xanatos asked.           

“Germany” Alphonse replied simply.           

“How exactly did you meet…Titania?” Xanatos hesitated.             

"We met her own some island," Edward said, "I think she called it Avalon."           

“How did you end up there?”           

"It's a long story."           

“Care to share?”           

"Not with you."           

“You do realize I own this building, and should really throw you out for breaking and entering?”           

Edward smirked at the man. “Do that, and I’ll be sure to report to Titania the reason we couldn’t finish this simple mission.”           

“I’ve made improvements on the security system” Xanatos replied curtly. “She’d never get inside.”           

"You're bluffing," Edward said. "Going by your reaction, you know damn well what she can do. Even if you could manage something that could keep her out, is it really worth wasting resources just to stop two people from talking to Goliath?”           

Xanatos grunted as they passed an opening in the tower that leads to a balcony.  For a moment, Edward could see that they were indeed well above the clouds. “I can already tell you’re too smart for your own good, kid.”           

Edward gave a rueful laugh. “Oh, you have no idea…”           

“Sir?” a voice from the top of the stairs called. Edward couldn’t see him because of where they were in the tower. “Is that you?”           

“Yes, Owen!” Xanatos replied. “I brought some  _guests_ with me!”           

“I thought you were going to ‘take care’ of them?” the voice, apparently called Owen asked.           

"Well, my plans changed," Xanatos said as they made it to the top of the stairs. Edward and Alphonse followed him to find themselves on the top of a high circular battement. Curiously, on various parts of the parapet walling of the battlement, stone statues depicting rested. There were seven in all. Six of them depicted strange humanoid creatures with bat-like wings, and one of them looked like a demonic mastiff of some sort. But before Edward could take a closer look at the statues, he heard somebody clear their throat, so he turned his head to see a man and a woman standing in the middle of the battlement.           

The man, who Edwards assumed was Owen, was in a black suit with a white, collared shirt and red tie underneath, his blond hair was short and close-cropped, and wore round glasses. His icy blue eyes lit up in surprise when he saw the boys but then shrank into a penetrating glare of suspicion. Normally, Edward wouldn't have thought much of it, but he felt his skin crawl despite himself. He couldn't put out his finger on it but something about that man…just wasn’t right.           

“So these are the intruders you guys were getting all worked up about?”           

Edward turned to get a look at the woman who had just spoken. She was dressed in a red jacket and blue jeans. Her long hair fell down just below her shoulders, and Edward couldn’t tell for the life of him if her hair was black or a very dark shade of blue. But the thing that really stood out to Edward immediately was her dark skin. It brought memories of the Gypsies he befriended during his travels in Europe, and perhaps nostalgically, the desert faring folk with brown skin and red eyes he had met all those years ago. But the woman's dark brown eyes reminded him she couldn't be an Ishbalan, so he shook the image out of his mind.              

Xanatos gave a curt nod in the woman’s direction. “Indeed, Ms. Maza. We caught these kids breaking into the building with some sort of magic.”           

Ms. Maza gave Xanatos an incredulous look. “And you tried to take them on  _alone_?” 

Xanatos shrugged. “I wanted to resolve the issue without unnecessary violence, and I did. Besides, I  _was_ armed.”         

Edward’s brain short-circuited for a second. “Wait, what?”           

To answer Edward’s question, Xanatos pulled back his coat and revealed a pistol attached to his left hip. Edward looked up at Xanatos to see one of the cockiest grins he had seen a while on the businessman’s face. “What? You were breaking and entering. Meeting you without some form of protection would have been stupid.”           

Edward nodded in understanding, trying to ignore the lump in his throat. “Touche…”           

“So what spell did you cast on Xanatos to get him to agree to take you up here?” Ms. Maza cut in, glaring at the boys in front of her.           

“Okay, what is with you guys and assuming we know magic?” Edward asked with a groan.  

“We saw how you broke into the building” Owen coolly replied with an adjustment of his glasses. “The boy in blue clapped his hands and broke down the door.”           

"That wasn't magic," Alphonse said. "It was science."           

“Right…” Ms. Maza said doubtfully. She waved a finger in Xanatos’s direction. “So he isn’t being mind controlled or compelled anyway?”           

Xanatos chuckled. “Believe me, Ms. Maza. I am as lucid as I’m going to get.”           

“Besides, we can’t do something like that” Alphonse added.           

“So why did you let them up here if you thought they were so dangerous?” Ms. Maza asked Xanatos.

“Titania sent us here to talk to Goliath” Edward answered. 

At that, Owen's narrowed eyes widened, and Ms. Maza’s breath hitched. “ _Titania?”_  she gasped in disbelief.

Owen’s eyes narrowed again, and he stepped closer to the brothers, his voice a low, accusing growl. “Why would she send you here? Who  _are_ you?”           

“You know, I’ve been trying to get them to answer that myself, Owen," Xanatos said, turning to look at the red and blue duo.           

"Sorry," Edward said with a dismissive shrug. "We're not giving any personal details to anyone but Goliath or his clan."          

“Well good news for you” Ms. Maza retorted, walking forward so that she was directly in front of Edward and Alphonse. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a golden bag with an eagle engraved on it. "I'm NYPD _and_ a member of the Clan.”             

“Huh?” Alphonse went.           

Edward raised an eyebrow at the woman. “You’re a member of the Clan? What, are you Goliath’s girlfriend or something?”           

Ms. Maza’s cheeks went red immediately. “W-w-well I…” she stammered.           

Xanatos chuckled again, a bit harder this time. "You hit the nail on the head."           

Ms. Maza groaned in agitation as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Yes… I am his girlfriend…”           

“Great!” Alphonse said cheerfully, clapping his gloved hands together. “Can you take us to him?”

Ms. Maza looked between the two boys. “So, you aren't Quarrymen… and you don’t want to hurt Goliath in any way?”           

"No," Edward and Alphonse said at the same time.           

“Okay…” Ms. Maza sighed. “When they wake up, I’ll introduce you. But I’m keeping my eye on both of you.”           

“That’s fair” Alphonse replied with a smile. “When will they wake up?”           

“They’ll get up at sundown so…” Ms. Maza looked down at her watch.           

“Ten minutes” Owen curtly replied.            

“So we wait," Ms. Maza said. “In the meantime, can you two boys explain what’s going on?”           

Edward grunted in displeasure. “Don’t call us ‘boys.' We're a tad bit old for that."           

Ms. Maza raised an eyebrow at Edward. “You’re like what, 15 and 13?”          

 Edward glared at her. “I’m 18” he grumbled.           

“17…” Alphonse muttered, his face red.           

 Ms. Maza blinked at them in surprise. “You’re kidding.”           

 Xanatos snorted “A little short for an older teenager aren’t…”           

Without warning, Edward ran right up into Xanatos’s face and grabbed the man by his collar. “You want to say that again, you smug bastard?” he growled.         

 Xanatos had the nerve to grin at him. “You really might want to think about what you’re doing, kid.”           

“Don’t call me kid!” Edward shouted.           

“Then stop acting like one” Owen cut in, his voice ice as he grabbed Edward by the shoulder. “Unhand Mr. Xanatos at once.”           

“Brother, please!” Alphonse pleaded. “Can you rein your temper for ten minutes?”           

“Yeah, yeah…” Edward muttered, dropping Xanatos. “But call me short again, and you’re getting a fist to the face.”          

"Normally I'd approve of someone hitting him the face, but if you want to stay, I wouldn’t do that" Ms. Maza warned.           

“She’s right you know” Xanatos added. “I could have you thrown out anytime.”           

“Whatever” Edward grumbled.           

"I'm really sorry about him," Alphonse said sheepishly. “He’s usually more mature than this.”         

“So what exactly are your names?” Ms. Maza asked. “I’d really rather not piss you off with ‘kid’?”           

Edward hesitated for a moment, before answering. “The name’s Edward Elric."         

“I’m Alphonse Elric," Alphonse said, with a smile. “Pleased to meet you.”          

To the brother’s surprise, the detective smiled at Alphonse. “Well, at least one of you knows how to mind your manners. I’m Detective Elisa Maza.”

Alphonse shook the detective’s hand. “It’s good to meet you, Ms. Maza.”   

The woman chuckled. “Please. Call me Elisa.”           

Edward couldn’t help but smile at the woman’s friendliness. “Well, it’s good to meet you all the same.” He said. “I hope the rest of the Clan is more like you and not…” Edward shot Xanatos a dirty look. “Like other unpleasant people I’ve met.”           

"Just watch your mouth, and you'll be fine," Elisa said. "And try not to stare."           

Alphonse blinked in confusion. “What do you mean?”           

“You’ll see” Elisa replied.

…           

The minutes crawled by. Edward didn’t feel like talking at that moment. Elisa and Xanatos tried to coax some details out of the brothers, but Edward told them that he and his brother tell them everything when Goliath woke up. After all, it was more practical to talk to everyone at once, right? So for the next ten minutes, Edward kept himself busy by walking around the edge of the battlement and observing his surroundings.            

One thing Edward noticed was that he could see all the castle below him. He saw the Great Hall that he and Alphonse had emerged from and the bailey behind it. He saw the bailey on the side of the castle and fountain in the center and the towers and battlements on each corner. He saw the wall and gatehouse on the front and many sections of grass and trees growing on parts of the castle.

The castle was enormous and ornate and had a Gothic atmosphere that Edward resonated with. Still, with the castle being so massive, Edward had to wonder why Xanatos would go through the trouble of tearing it down and putting it on top of this tower. A part of him wanted to ask him, but he didn't intend on talking to Xanatos anymore than he had to.           

So Edward settled with looking out in the city below. They hadn't been kidding when they said that the castle had risen above the clouds. On one side of the tower, the cloud cover was so thick that he couldn't see anything below it. But below the castle gates, Edward could see all of the city. The tallest buildings were clustered so tightly together that Edward couldn't see much of the ground. It was dusk, so everyone had turned on their lights, and the skyline lit up with bright golden light from the buildings. They were so far from the ground that the cars looked like insects, and he couldn't even hear anything from the city below. Just the gentle wind blowing above the clouds.           

Edward sighed impatiently as he looked up at the sun, which had almost entirely sunk under the horizon, it's pink-orange light sparkling from the water of the bay.  _It’s time, isn’t it?_  He thought as he placed his hand on the statue next to him.            

“Hey!” he called to Elisa. “It’s sunset. They should be awake by now, right?”           

"Not quite, yet," Elisa said, giving the statue Edward had his hand on a peculiar look. "They always come out exactly at sundown."            

“Why?” Edward asked. “What, are they vampires or something?”           

 Elisa’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “No… they’re Gargoyles…”           

"Wait, what?" Alphonse cried out in shock.           

“Wait…” Elisa said slowly. “Titania didn’t tell you Goliath was a Gargoyle?”           

At this, Edward’s brain started to fume. “What the hell’s a Gar..”           

At this, the sun went down completely.           

“They’re here” Owen went.           

Before Edward could refute this, a sudden growling made the boy jump. It was coming from… the statue? No, they were coming from all the statues! What the hell was…!           

Edward’s eyes widened as the stone on the statue started to crack and shake. Edward saw red skin underneath as the stone figure reared back its head and roared so loud that echoed through the castle.           

“Brother!” Alphonse screamed. “They’re alive!”           

Edward looked around him to see that his brother was right. All seven statues were starting to move and break the stone on the surface, and each one of them gave a similar primal roar as they came to life.           

Edward's defensive instincts kicked in as the statue in front of him broke off all the stone on its skin. "Al!" he shouted. "Cover my back!"  Edward jumped back and got into a fighting stance and judging from the sudden feeling of a warm body behind him, Alphonse did the same.            

Unfortunately, giving that order draw the creature’s attention, and it turned to face Edward with a snarl. Edward’s stomach churned in fear as he got a good look at the thing. It looked like a demon that crawled straight out of hell. Its overall shape was relatively humanoid, having a slim, muscular build like Edward, and dressed in nothing but a brown loincloth kept up by a leather belt. However, many things about it made it clear it wasn't human. For one, it had a pair of pterodactyl-like wings attached to its back, with a pair tiny red claws at the middle joint. Its skin was as blood red as the duster Edward wore, with a mane of wild white hair that flowed past its shoulders. It had two long horns at the top of its head, pointed ears, clawed hands, a long tail, and an enormous beak in place of lips.  Edward sweated a bit as saw the creature's glowing, pure white eyes boring into Edward's as if it was daring him to make a move.           

The creature growled again. “Who are you?”           

The deep, yet youthful voice of the creature threw Edward for a moment. “Y-you can talk?”           

“Guys!” Edward turned his head to see Elisa running up to another one of those creatures, urging them to get back. “Calm down! They’re not here to hurt you!”           

“You’re worried about  _us_  hurting  _them_?” Alphonse cried out in disbelief.         

Edward turned back to face the creature nearest to him, and his body tensed like a spring as it sauntered close to him.           

“Stay back!” he shouted, raising his right fist. “Don’t get any closer!”           

The red demon snorted, but it did as Edward commanded. “You humans really are all the same, aren’t you…?”          

"Brooklyn!" a deep, booming voice called from the other side of the battlement, demanding the attention of everyone there.            

It was another one of those demons, and even with just a cursory look, Edward could tell this one was the boss. He was enormous, standing at least seven feet tall with powerful muscles rippling throughout his body like a power lifter, and being dressed in just the loincloth only made ensured Edward could see his apparent strength. Unlike the red demon, his skin was a deep lavender, and his hip-length hair was a dark brown. His huge bat-like wings and his tail were twitching in apprehension, and other than a couple of ridges along his brow, his pointed ears, and his glowing white eyes, his face was very human-like. Honestly, if Edward were honest, he'd say the creature was handsome, but that was the furthest thing from his mind at the moment.           

“Brooklyn” the creature repeated, looking at the red demon next to Edward. “Leave the human alone. If Elisa says he’s not here to hurt us, we should hear him and his companion out.”           

The red demon, apparently called Brooklyn, grunted in response as walked past Edward and towards his leader. “Okay, Goliath.”           

 Edwards’s heart skipped a beat. “Goliath?” he shouted, looking at the lavender demon dead in the eyes. “ _You’re_  Goliath?”             

The leader of the creatures tilted his head at Edward quizzically, and to Edward’s surprise, the glow in its eyes stopped, revealing dark brown, human-like eyes. “Yes… I am Goliath.” It answered.             

“You…” Edward stuttered in disbelief as the other creatures gathered around their leader. Now that they were in Edward’s line of sight, he could make out exactly what he was dealing with. Other than Goliath and Brooklyn, there were five more of these things. One of them wasn't even humanoid. It was basically a massive mastiff that went up to Edward's hips on all fours, and it had deep blue skin, fan-shaped ears, two small horns above his brows, a very short tail, and three spikes running along his back.  Judging from the way it was just growling like a dog at Edward and Alphonse, Edward doubted it was sentient. The rest of the demons were human-like, but they all looked very different from each other. About the only commonality were wings, claws, brow ridges, and long tails.             

The creature on Goliath's left was massive, though smaller than his leader, and if Edward was brutally honest, he looked somewhat overweight. Still, Edward could see the muscles underneath the fat chest and belly, so he knew better to assume the creature would be easy to handle. The demon had aquamarine skin, a bald head with three horns running over the center, fin-like ears, and sapphire blue eyes. Of the entire group, the fat demon the biggest wingspan in proportion to its height, which given his size compared to the others made sense. Like Goliath and Brooklyn, he just wore a loincloth kept up with a leather belt.             

Next to the blue creature was the only female of the group. She was quite tall (still taller than Edward, goddamn it!) and slender with long dark hair worn in a ponytail and brown eyes. Her skin was lavender, like Goliath’s, which made Edward wonder if they were related. Unlike the men, she wore a two-piece outfit that left her midriff exposed: a white loincloth and top tied together by intersecting strings over breasts. She also wore golden rings on each one of her pointy ears and golden bracelets on each wrist.              

The creature to the right of Goliath looked like a portly old man, even bigger than the big blue demon, with tan-colored skin, short white hair, and an impressive white beard. Edward noted with a cringe that while his right eye was a deep brown, his left eye had a scar run through it, giving it a dead yellow color. Additionally, the old man had three small horns on each side of his forehead and he wore a leather jerkin and trousers on top of the loincloth the other men of his clan wore. Attached to the elder’s belt was a scimitar that gleamed in the moonlight, and Edward noted the hand that he kept over it as he stared down him and his brother.             

Next to the old man was a creature that was much smaller than the rest of clan, to the point Edward had to wonder if he was a child. He'd only go up to Edward's neck standing up straight, and he was bony compared to the rest of the clan, even Brooklyn and the woman. Unlike the other humanoids, his wings were attached to his arms in a web-like structure, like a flying squirrel’s. Apparently, he pierced his wings, which allowed him to wear his loincloth. He had khaki-colored skin, a bald head, and huge, owl-like yellow eyes that were staring at the two boys in curiosity.             

Edward stared at them for a moment, at a loss for words for the first time in a while. Then, he shook his head. These creatures can talk… They clearly weren’t human, but except for the mastiff, they were sentient. Still, Edward clapped his hands together, just in case things went south and looked Goliath dead in the eye. “What are you?” he asked. “Did someone make you all like this?”             

The red creature, Brooklyn, snarled at his words. “What’s that supposed to mean?”               

“Have you heard the term, ‘Chimera’?” Alphonse asked, undeterred by the creature’s hostility.  In fact, he had a finger on his chin as he studied the creatures inquisitively. “They’re what happens when you alchemically merge two or more different living things. If I had to guess, to make you someone took a human and merged them with some sort of dinosaur. Or maybe…"               

Alphonse was cut off by an aggravated growl from Goliath. “You insult us human! We are not the product of your depraved science! We’re Gargoyles, and we’re as natural as the rest of you humans!”               

“Gargoyles…” Edward said softly, putting down his hands as his mind recollected something he read a long time ago. “You mean statues that come to life at night… that kind of Gargoyle?”               

Goliath nodded, seeming to rein in his temper. “Yes… During the day, we rest in stone sleep. At night, we are flesh and blood.”               

"That's incredible!" Alphonse exclaimed, his eyes lit up in wonder. "To be able to transmute your bodies like that without any Alchemic ability… why haven't we ever heard of you?"               

“Let’s just say that many humans don’t take kindly to our appearance…” Brooklyn said, eyeing Edward.               

Edward didn’t miss what the Gargoyle was implying, and a gave a growl of frustration. “Oh, lay off scrawny!” he shouted. “Titania didn’t tell us that the Clan we were looking for were a bunch of candy-colored bat lizard people!”               

 Brooklyn’s eyes flared white. “ _Scrawny?_!”               

 The chubby turquoise Gargoyle blinked in confusion. “’Candy-colored’?”                 

“Wait…” the old Gargoyle questioned. “What do you mean Titania didn’t tell ye?”                 

“They were sent here by Titania, guys” Elisa clarified. “They were told to meet you for some reason.”               

   The old man shot the boys a puzzled look. “Who  _are_  ye lads?”               

 “I’m Alphonse Elric” Al answered without hesitation. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, sir."                 

“Ha!” the old man laughed. “What a polite young lad! Don’t know very many humans who’d be that way to their first Gargoyle!”                 

Alphonse rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly. “Thank you, sir…”                 

Hudson looked at Edward as if waiting for something.                 

“I’m Edward Elric" Edward answered. "His older brother."                 

"Older?" the little khaki Gargoyle asked, watching the brothers closely as he walked around them. "But he's taller than you.”                   

Edward glared at the Gargoyle in annoyance. “I know, and I  _really_ don’t need you to remind me of that, kid!”                   

The tiny Gargoyle glared back at Edward. “I am one thousand and thirty-six years old!” he cried. “I am not a child!”                   

“Wait!” Edward shouted in disbelief. “ _How old?!”_                    

“It’s a long story” Elisa replied drily.                   

“Well, I’d love to freakin hear it then!” Edward retorted.                   

"You first," Brooklyn said, glaring at Edward as he took a step towards them. "Why did Titania send you after us?"                   

Edward snorted at the Gargoyle’s tone. “What’s your problem, scrawny?”                   

Brooklyn snarled. “What’s  _your_  problem,  _midget_?”                   

“You…” Edward growled, about to stomp towards Brooklyn, but a warning look from Alphonse made him quickly regain his composure.  _Be the bigger man…_ he told himself. “Well, what do you  _want_ us to call you,  _friend?_ ” he bit out, feeling his soul die with every word.                   

"Hmph," the red Gargoyle grunted. "Call me Brooklyn."                   

“What about the rest of you?” Alphonse asked, looking at the rest of the Gargoyles.                     

The old man chuckled at the boy’s request. “Me names Hudson, lad. Like the river.” He motioned towards the mastiff, who was no longer growling at them. “The hound’s name is Bronx.”                     

“I'm Lexington" the little khaki Gargoyle replied cheerfully.              

"My name's Broadway!" the chubby blue Gargoyle called with an affable grin on his face. “Good to meetcha!                     

Edward snorted at that. “How appropriate…” he muttered, earning an elbow from Alphonse.               

They hadn't even noticed the woman walking up to them, and before they even realized it, she was shaking their hands with an infectious smile. “It’s good to meet you, Edward and Alphonse. I’m Angela!”                     

 Edward and Alphonse shared a surprise glance, before smiling awkwardly back at Angela and returning her handshake. "Nice to meet you, too Angela…”      

Angela shook her head. “You have no idea how good it is to see a friendly human face. Especially now of all times…”                       

Edward raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?”                     

"It's none of your concern," Goliath said, pulling Angela to his side by her shoulder. "Now… would you care to explain why you're here, Elrics?”                       

Edward nodded. “It’s kind of a long story, Goliath.”                     

 Goliath snorted. “We have all night.”                     

“Okay then…” Alphonse said. “It kind of started when we found an amulet at some ruins in Germany…”

_It took a while for the brothers to tell the Fairy Queen everything she wanted to know. Just like that, the brothers had spilled secrets they had kept to themselves for months (in Edward’s case, years) while Titania listened in her chair, watching them intently._

_“And when I read the incantation on this pendant" Edward finished, pulling it out of his pocket. "It brought us here…"_

_Titania’s eyes gleamed. “The Phoenix Gate…”_

_“What’s that?” Alphonse asked._

_"One of the Three Keys to Power forged right here on Avalon," Titania replied. "It's a magical talisman that allows whoever uses it to travel through time and space. If you speak the incantation and imagine when and where you want to be, it will take you there. But if you have no location in mind, it will take you where it thinks you need to go.”_

_Alphonse gasped. “How is that **possible?** ”            _

_"Well…" Titania replied. "Your Alchemy may not work here, but this world is filled with magic and things you would have never thought possible in your world. Oberon and I are just the beginning. There are beings with power over death itself. People who can cause storms with a glance. Things that can make reality itself bend to their will."_

_Edward stood up at that. “Then, if we imagine our home, can it take us back to Amestris?!”_

_Titania shook his head. “No… I don’t believe so. While people have crossed vast distances and even traveled to other planets and magical realms like Avalon with it, they were all still located in our universe. If your story is true, then I don’t believe the Phoenix Gate can allow you to cross over to your world.”_

_Edward groaned. “Of course. That’d be too easy…”_

_“So what are we going to do now…?” Alphonse asked Titania._

_“Perhaps you can find a way home.”_

_“What’s that supposed to mean?” Edward asked._

_Titania paused, looking at Edward and Alphonse with a thoughtful gaze. “If you are willing, I can help you two on your journey.”_

_Both boys tensed. “And why would you do that?” Edward asked._

_"To put it in terms you understand, it's Equivalent Exchange," Titania replied. "To get something I need, I need to give you something you need.”_

_“What can two humans possibly do for an all-powerful fairy?” Alphonse retorted._

_Titania chuckled again. "Lord Oberon may have you believe our kind are all-powerful, but only the foolish pretend to not have weaknesses or limitations. Make no mistake. We are very powerful, but we are bound by divine laws and inability to be everywhere at once. Even we need help sometimes. Besides, sometimes it's just more efficient to turn to you mortals for aid."_

_Edward blinked. “And what would you have us do?”_

_"There are two things that I require of you," Titania said, standing up from her chair and pointing at the pendant. "One of them is the Phoenix Gate. The other is for you to go on a quest.”_

_“What?” Edward exclaimed._

_“Why do you need the Phoenix Gate?” Alphonse asked, putting his hand over it protectively._

_"The Phoenix Gate is the rightful property of the Third Race," Titania said. "Many of us have been searching it for countless millennia, and its power is too great to leave in the hands of mortals. I wish to keep it here, where it will be safe."_

_“Huh” Edward grunted. “Makes as much sense as anything else… What about this quest of yours?”_

_“In the Isle of Manhattan, there is a clan of warriors who live to protect the citizens within the city. However, because of the nature of their being, for the longest time, they fulfilled their duty in the shadows, out of the eyes of the public. But because of actions of a trio of foolish humans and a traitor of their kind, they’ve been exposed to the world, and it’s turned against them out of fear.”_

_“What did they do for people to react that badly against them?” Edward asked._

_"Nothing worse than the average person in the position they find themselves in," Titania replied with a wave of their hand. "They are only feared because they're different from everyone else. And you've experienced firsthand that humans fear what they don't understand."_

_“Right…” Edward replied doubtfully. “And what does this have to do with us?”_

_Titania sighed. “I usually stay out of the affairs of mortals, but I’m rather fond of this clan. They’ve been of great use to me in the past, and their steadfast spirits in the face of all their hardships are admirable. But because of that traitor and those foolish humans, they've been placed in great danger. The whole world is against them, and I have good faith that things will only get worse for them from here on out. It would be a great shame if we were to lose such a group of formidable warriors. Because of Oberon’s laws, I can’t interfere directly, and Oberon has no further interest in aiding them… but there’s nothing to stop **you** from helping them.”            _

_“Why us?” Edward said with a questioning eyebrow. He didn't like how the Fairy Queen was talking about these people like they were toys, and if she wanted his brother and him to work with her…_

_“I knew there was something special about you two the moment you stepped on the island, and now, hearing your stories has only convinced me of this. The two of you are outsiders in the Mortal World, despite being human, and the knowledge you hold will be of great use. Furthermore, you have a lot in common with the members of the Manhattan Clan. A similar familiarity with loss and the horrors of humankind. The same desire to protect and aid those in need, despite what it may cost you. The same unyielding spirit that allows you to overcome all adversity. Quite frankly, they could use allies such as yourself."_

_“Okay…” Edward nodded. “If we help these people, what will you do in return? You can’t invoke Equivalent Exchange without anything to offer.”_

_“Of course,” Titania said with a thin, icy smile. “In exchange for these two things, I will aid you two in your quest to find a way back to your home. And… I will restore your ability to perform Alchemy.”_

_“WHAT?!” both boys shot up from their chairs in disbelief and confusion._

_“How are you going to do that?” Edward demanded. “Alchemy can’t work on this side of the Gate because it runs on the energy of those who’ve died on **this** side!”            _

_Titania laughed, and this time it was so loud that it echoed through the forest. “My child, I’ve just introduced you to a whole new **world** of possibilities! Do you really think that the  **souls of the dead**  are the only source of power in this world? Only a necromancer would think such a thing! I’m the Queen of the Third Race. It will be child’s play to grant you access to the power you need.” The Fairy Queen walked forward until she was mere inches away from the brothers. "So… do we have a deal?"            _

_The brothers stood there for a moment, uneasy. “How do we know you won’t just screw us over the minute you get what you want?” Edward said._

_Titania smiled at them, and this time the smile looked genuine. “You have my word as a ruler of Avalon that I will do my very best to uphold my end of the bargain.”_

_The brothers looked at each other once more. There was a possibility that this was a trap and that by agreeing with Titania, they were asking for trouble. They knew about some of the tales of the Fair Folk, about how they stole children away and would trick and cause misery to mortals who had a wish. But if they refused, what could they do? They were on a strange island with no way off, and if they rejected her, she might grow angry and decide to get rid of them in a point of her finger. And even if she didn't, they'd still be on the same island as Oberon, and he didn't seem as reasonable as his wife…_

_"Ah hell…" Edward sighed. "What else can we do? What do you say, Al?"_

_“Let’s do it, Brother!” Alphonse said with a determined glint in his eyes._

_“All right then, Lady!” Edward said, holding out the Phoenix Gate to the Queen of Avalon. “You’ve got yourself a deal!”_

_"Very well, then," Titania said as she took the Phoenix Gate in her hands. With a flex of her wrist, the pendant disappeared with a green flash of light. "We'll begin by returning your Alchemy."_

_With that, Titania placed her hands upon Edward and Alphonse’s heads and began a strange chant._

**_Earth, the mother of rock and tree_ **

**_A covenant I pose to the glory of thee_ **

**_Grant your power to these fair youths here_ **

**_And guard what they hold close and dear_ **

_As she said this, a green light surrounded Edward and Alphonse, and their bodies were filling with a sudden rush of energy. It was like a current of electricity was running right through them, but instead of hurting them, it made them feel stronger than they had ever felt before. Like they could lift a mountain with just their hands._

**_While they with all their wisdom and might_ **

**_Shall aid the Guardians who dwell in the night_ **

**_Hear these words and grant them your favor_ **

**_And ensure their spirits will never waver!_ **

_And just like that, the green light was gone, as was the euphoria that the boys felt._

_“Wha… what was that?” Alphonse stammered, looking down at his hands as Titania removed her hands._

_“I granted you access to a new power source," Titania said._

_Edward looked down at his hand, still somewhat in denial over what just happened. “So… we just have to…?”_

_“Go ahead.” Titania interrupted. “Test your new power.”_

_Edward looked at her. Well, there was only one way to find out. Forming the formula in his mind with practiced ease, Edward clapped his hands, pressed his palms to the ground, and let the power flow…_


	2. A Mysterious Stranger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the Gargoyles and the Alchemist get to know each other, a face familiar to the Gargoyles appears. But is it the person they think she is?

           

 “Where are they?” John Castaway muttered to himself, checking his watch as he stood on the front desk of his brand-new headquarters. He rubbed his blonde hair back in apprehensiveness as he looked to the door. He gave a shaky sigh as he shifted the papers on his desk.           

Sundown had already passed. That meant that the  _demons_ would be roaming about the city now, doing God knows what. His organization was only a few days old, and with the limited amount of time he had had, he just obtained a handful of Quarrymen recruits. Sure, the town was in a panic now, but if he waited too long, Detective Bluestone and Detective Maza might be able to form their Gargoyle Taskforce, and the citizens may get it put in their heads that those creatures weren't evil after all. And after what those creatures had done to his brother, that would be far too dangerous to allow to happen.           

So here he was, waiting in his office for the Illuminati member that had approached him the other day to get here. Castaway had already performed his end of the bargain as instructed, and he had so much to do. He would  _not_ stand for his time to be wasted.

 Just as Castaway was about to make a call to the bounty hunters he had hired that the mission was off, there was a knock on his door. "Finally," he muttered, as he got up from his desk, straightened his tie, and strode up to the door. He looked through the keyhole to see a man whose features were cloaked in shadows.            

“Castaway,” a smooth, soothing voice called. “I am here.”           

 With a nod, Castaway opened the door and stood aside as the man walked inside. The man looked to be in his early fifties, wore an alabaster grey suit with a white undershirt, and had iron-grey hair tied back into a ponytail. At first glance, he wouldn’t look that different from any other old man. But when he turned to look at Castaway, the blond man saw that the old man’s eyes were so pale, they were almost colorless.           

The old man smiled as he walked towards Castaway. “It’s good to finally meet you in person, young Castaway.”

 Castaway nodded, closing the door behind him as the old man held out his hand to him. "The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Flamel."           

The old man chuckled as the two shook hands. “Please. Call me Nick.”

 Castaway nodded as he took a step back. "Thirty-six," he said.           

 Mr. Flamel nodded. “Nine” he replied.           

 Castaway raised an eyebrow at him. “Nine huh? I would have thought would have been in the top five brackets at your age.”           

 Mr. Flamel chuckled again. “There are members of the Illuminati far older than I am. Besides, I don’t like to be too high in the order. Too many eyes you know? At nine, I’m powerful enough to have influence, but low enough so that the upper echelons don’t interfere with me.”           

“You don’t trust them?”           

"At my age, you learn never to trust anyone."           

 Castaway nodded as he led Mr. Flamel to the desk. “Would you like some tea, Mr. Flamel?”           

 “I’d love some” the old man nodded.           

Castaway reached for the doorway next to his desk, but Flamel grabbed his shoulder. “No, lad. I’ll take care of it.”           

Castaway raised an eyebrow as Flamel reached into his pocket and pulled out a rock as red as blood. Flamel raised it in the direction of his desk, and to Castaway's surprise, the stone started to glow with a red light. A crimson mass of energy shot from the rock, and when the glowing stopped, there were two mugs of steaming tea sitting on his desk.            

Castaway leaped back in shock. "Magic?" he cried.           

The old man shook his head and gave Castaway a coy smile. “Science” he replied. With that, he took a sit in front of Castaway’s desk.           

Castaway stared at the old man for a moment, before sitting in front of Castaway. “So… it looks like the Illuminati was telling the truth about you, Nicholas. Though if I were honest, it seems they downplayed the extent of your Alchemic powers. I thought you couldn’t produce something from nothing.”           

“Normally I can’t” Flamel replied, putting the strange red stone on the desk. “But with the Philosopher’s Stone, I can perform feats that most Alchemists would consider impossible.”           

“The Philosopher's Stone?” Castaway gasped. “The legendary artifact that grants immortality and turns lead into gold?”           

“Something like that.” Flamel chuckled. “I’ve created many great things with the ones I have.”           

“You… have more than one? How did you  _make_ them?”           

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” the old Alchemist laughed.           

Castaway stared at the strange man before him in both awe and apprehension. The upper echelons had told him to contact Flamel for his problems with the Gargoyles. He had heard rumors about this old man. The French Alchemist who had discovered immortality in the 14th Century. The one who had made the Philosopher’s stone, and when he died, the ones who enviously sought the stone found his grave to be empty. But he hadn't expected him to be quite like… this. The old man seemed innocent enough, but there was something sinister about him that Castaway couldn’t put his finger on.           

“Anyway…” Castaway said. “Let’s get down to business. Did you send your forces to the towers as promised?”           

Flamel nodded. “She’s flying to the rendezvous point as we speak.”           

“She?” Castaway exclaimed. “You mean you only sent one bounty hunter?”           

“Believe me” Flamel chuckled. “She’s worth more than all your men put together!”           

 “I sent over a dozen bounty hunters!” Castaway exclaimed. “And I made sure at least some of them had tangled with their kind before!”           

“Who exactly are these people?” Flamel asked.           

Castaway grunted in annoyance at his deflected question but complied with the Alchemist’s request by pulling out some photos from his desk drawer. There were twelve people in all, but he only pushed forward the first three to capture Flamel’s attention.           

The man in the photo on the left was tall and slender with a thin face, long, wild brown hair, and dressed in what appeared to be gold armor with silver shoulder pads and gold claws. The thing that stood out to Mr. Flamel was that the man's right eye seemed to have been replaced by a red lens framed with gold. Furthermore, if he looked carefully, the man's neck seemed to be made of some red metal or plastic.           

The person in the photo on the right was a woman with a similar lean build to the man on the left, same length, wild brown hair, and similar thin features. She was dressed in golden armor that left her midriff exposed and a reddish-brown leotard that had metal bits attached to it. Like the man, the woman's neck was made of some red material. Judging by their similar features, the man and the woman were brothers and sisters, perhaps twins.              

In contrast to the siblings in the photo on either side, the massive man in the picture in the middle was only humanoid in shape. Beyond that, everything else about him was quite wolf-like. He was covered in head to toe with grey fur, with a mane of long white hair and a beard. His face was human overall, but his eyes were a piercing red with white corneas, his ears were pointed and dog-like, and he sported long sharp canines protruding from his upper lip. The man was dressed in simple blue tights and a tunic with a gold wolf face that covered most of his chest.           

“Is that man a Chimera?” Flamel asked, pointing at the man in the middle.           

"Of a sort" Castaway answered. "His name is Wolf, and he's a for a member of the bounty hunter group called the Pack. He's had the DNA of a wolf spliced into him to make himself strong enough to take on Goliath."           

“Oh?” Flamel raised an eyebrow in wonder. “So he’s gone against our foe, has he?”       

“All of the Pack has” Castaway clarified. He pointed at the two people on either side of Wolf. “The brother and the sister are called Jackal and Hyena. They were part of the Pack too, and like Wolf, they had their bodies adjusted to become stronger.”           

“Are those armor looking parts cybernetic enhancements?”           

“Yes. Right now, they’re going to meet at the rendezvous point with what little-hired muscle I was able to get my hands on in two days." Castaway suddenly glared at the Alchemist in front of him, and his voice grew as hard as ice. "They're skilled, but they might not be enough to hold their own against the Clan on their own. I was counting on you to muster up a more sizable force, but it seems I was too optimistic."           

To Castaway’s annoyance, the old Alchemist gave a carefree, almost jovial laugh. “No need to worry, my boy! The one I sent is worth more than one-hundred of your men combined!”           

“What makes you so sure of that?” Castaway growled. “What sort of qualifications does she have?”           

“Simple” the Alchemist replied with a coy smile. “She’s one of my creations.”           

That response gave Castaway pause. “Your… creation?”

…           

"So let me get this straight…" Brooklyn said after the brothers finished their story. "You're from 1923 Germany. You were exploring some ruins when you came across the Phoenix Gate, which zapped you to Avalon, where you stumbled into Titania, who sent you on a mission to… help us?"           

"That's the gist of it, yeah" Edward replied. "Though I have no idea why she neglected to tell us what you really were."           

“The Queen of the Third Race has a sense of humor, it seems” Owen muttered under his breath.           

Edward grunted in response. “Anyway, we got a boat she gave us, and it brought us to the city. So here we are.”           

"Okay…" Elisa nodded. "But do you know  _what_ she wanted you to do exactly?"           

Edward shrugged. "All she said was "aid the guardians who dwell in the night." She also mentioned that because you've been exposed to the world, things are going to get worse for you."           

“Great…” Brooklyn muttered, rolling his eyes. “Just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse…”           

"So Titania thought we were all in danger…" Xanatos said as if he were fishing for something. "And her response… is to send two kids…"           

“Still not a kid…” Edward retorted through grit teeth.           

“Exactly what kid would say” Xanatos snorted.           

 Edward palmed his face and growled in frustration. “Can someone  _punch_ that ass?”           

“I don’t think my husband would be into that” an unfamiliar voice called from behind Edward.           

Edward turned to see a woman walking up the stairs of the battlement. She was around as tall as Xanatos, had long red hair that flowed down past her hips, and wore simple black jeans and a red long-sleeved shirt. As she stepped closer, Edward saw that over the woman’s right eye was a light blue tattoo shaped roughly like a dog's head.           

In the woman's arms was a baby in light blue pajamas. His short hair was red like his mother's, somewhat lighter in tint. The baby's bright green eyes sparkled in delight as his mother carried him closer to the others.            

“What’s going on, David?” the woman asked, eyeing Edward and Alphonse in suspicion.           

“Your mother sent these kids to help the Gargoyles” Xanatos replied.           

Edward’s eyes widened. “ _Your mother?”_  he squeaked.           

“Titania’s your  _mother_?” Alphonse cried, holding his hands on either side of his head.           

“Pipe down!” the woman commanded as she stroked her baby’s hair. “You’re going to upset Alexander!” As if to confirm this, the baby gave a little coo, looking at the boys with a peculiar stare.           

“Sorry!” Alphonse squeaked, looking like he swallowed a lemon.           

“You’re not going to blow us up, are you?” Edward asked, swallowing the lump in his throat.           

"Only if you give me a reason," the woman said dryly.              

Xanatos laughed at the woman's words. "Oh, don't worry about that, Mr. Elric. Fox is only half-fairy, and she barely knows any magic! Not that she needs it to kick your ass!"           

“Damn Skippy” Fox replied, smiling at Xanatos, walking up to the man and give him a peck on the cheek.           

“Don’t tell you’re this asshole’s girlfriend….” Edward muttered in disbelief.           

“Wife” Fox declared. “Fox Xanatos, at your service. And you are?”           

“Alphonse Elric” Alphonse replied.           

“Edward Elric” Edward grunted. “Titania… your mother… sent us here.”           

 "Joy," Fox said with no enthusiasm whatsoever.           

 Edward raised an eyebrow at that. “You don’t seem that impressed.”           

“The last time I met my mother, she tried to steal my baby” Fox replied with a glare. “If she sent you here because she changed her mind I swear…”           

“Oh, no, no, no, no!” Alphonse cried, shaking his hands in front of him in denial. “We aren’t here for anything like that, we swear!”           

“Ma!” the baby suddenly cried out, pointing at Alphonse.           

“What is it, Alex?” Fox asked, looking down at the baby with a soft smile.           

"Maggie!" Alex whined, pointing at Alphonse again.            

Fox raised an eyebrow. “Magic?”           

 “Wait…” Xanatos pointed at Alphonse’s hands. “What are those marks on your gloves?”           

“Oh!” Alphonse exclaimed, looking down at the palms on his gloves. The gloves had a circle engraved in black ink, with a triangle with a dot in center drawn inside. “Is this what you were interested in, little guy?” Alphonse cooed as he stepped closer to the Xanatos’.           

 "Maggie!" the baby cried, shaking his head in excitement.            

“Well…” Alphonse laughed at the baby’s excitement. “It’s not quite magic, Alex! It’s Alchemy! These are transmutation circles! If I have a wish, they help it come true!”           

“Oh?” Owen quirked an eyebrow. “Would you care to demonstrate?”           

Alphonse hesitated. “Well…”           

“Yeah!” Xanatos insisted, ruffling his son’s hair. “Alex here loves magic! He’d love to see!”           

Alphonse turned to look at his brother for support. Edward shrugged. “Go ahead, Al.”           

"Okay then…" Alphonse muttered, flexing his fingers as he thought to himself. "What to make…?" Suddenly, the brown-haired boy's eyes lit up, and he snapped his fingers. "I got it!"            

With that, Alphonse clapped his hands and pressed them into the floor. Suddenly, a burst of blue light flashed through the battlement and engulfed the floor in the middle. The Gargoyles, Elisa, and all the Xanatos's watched in awe as the flash started to shape itself, rising in a three-dimensional figure. The figure melted into a humanoid shape, and in another second, the light faded, leaving a stone figure in its place. It was a statue, shaped as close as possible in the image of Goliath.           

The baby squealed in delight and clapped its hands together. “Again! Again!”           

“What sorcery is  _this_?” Goliath gasped.           

"Alchemy," Edward replied. "It's the scientific technique of understanding the structure of matter, breaking it down, and putting back together into something new."           

“Impressive…” Xanatos said as the gargoyles examined the newly sculpted statue. “An exact stone replica made in just a matter of seconds.”           

“You even included the scar he had on his shoulder…” Angela whispered, her voice betraying her wonder.           

“Wait…” Lexington interrupted. “Why is there a hole in the castle?”           

The gargoyles went over to look, and sure enough, there was a gaping hole in the floor of the battlement.            

“I’m sorry!” Alphonse quickly stammered. “I just worked with the material I had to work with!”           

“Okay…” Lexington muttered, stroking his chin in thought. “I know there are limits with magic, but I’ve never seen that you strictly speaking had to work with material that was around you…”           

“ _Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return,"_ Alphonse said.  _“To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's First Law of Equivalent Exchange_.”           

The Gargoyles looked at Alphonse like he had just spoken in German. “Huh?” Brooklyn went.           

"Ugh…" Edward pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, in layman's terms, with Alchemy, we can't make something from nothing. We need to have material to transmute anything. For example, if we want to repair a radio, we would have to have the parts on us or material to make new ones."            

"I don't understand," Owen said, looking at Alphonse and Edward with a flat, unreadable expression. "Human magic can manipulate matter, but it requires incantations and amplifying artifacts. And you’ve used neither.”           

 “How many times do we have to say it?” Edward groaned in exasperation. “It’s not magic, it’s science! We’re not like Titania who can make things from nothing! We have to follow the laws of the universe like everyone else!”             

"It's sort of like this," Alphonse added. "If magic is checkers, then Alchemy is chess. The board may be the same, but it's a completely different game."             

Goliath still looked puzzled. “I’ve met Alchemists before, but I’ve never seen them do anything like this.”           

Edward nodded. “Well… I’m not surprised. The techniques we learned… aren’t from anywhere you could have ever gone to.”           

“Why is that?” Xanatos asked. “I’ve been all over the world. Surely I’ll be able to recognize….”           

“Ever heard of a place called Amestris?” Edward cut him off.           

Xanatos’s eyebrows raised, and for the first time since Edward had seen him, he looked genuinely confused. “I don’t believe I have…”

 "Of course, you haven't," Edward grunted.           

“Is it a hidden realm like Avalon?” Fox asked.           

“I guess you can sort of say that…” Alphonse replied unsurely. “Though if what Titania said was any indication, Avalon is at least an actual part of this universe…”           

 Lexington blinked at the boy. “And Amestris isn’t?”           

Edward took a deep breath as if he was preparing to do something unpleasant. "No… Amestris is part of the world on the other side of the Gate…"           

“The… Gate?”           

 "The Gate of Truth," Edward said with a somber nod. "It's the source of Alchemic power, and it holds all of the secrets of existence inside. It's where we come from when we're born, and when we'll go when we die. And it's what brought us to this world, to begin with."           

The Gargoyles stiffed, and they stared at the boys like they were aliens. “You’re… from another world?” Angela gasped.           

"Another universe, yeah," Edward said as if he were describing the weather.            

The Gargoyles continued to look at the boys with wide eyes before Elisa broke the silence. "Okay, let's review…" she said. "You two are from another universe, and you got here through some Gate that apparently powers your magic, alchemy, or whatever you want to call it. Then, you came across the Phoenix Gate which brought you to Avalon in our time, where Titania told you to come to help us. Am I in the ballpark?"           

“Yeah…” Alphonse replied, hesitantly. “We know it sounds crazy…”           

Elisa shrugged. “Honestly? After everything we’ve gone through, we have no reason not to believe you. What was it that King Arthur said, Goliath?”            “

 _All things are true, few things are accurate_ ," Goliath replied.           

Edward stared blankly at the strange pair. “King Arthur…? As in… ‘Sword in the Stone’ King Arthur….?”           

Elisa nodded. “It’s a long story, kid. The point is, we believe you. We have no reason not to. Any story you could tell us, we have a stranger one to top it.”           

"Whatever you say," Edward muttered.            

"Tell me more about this Gate." Xanatos urged. "You said it was where we go when we die… and yet it powered your Alchemy and brought you here…"             

Alphonse nodded. "Honestly, we don't know very much about it ourselves, and we're people who've been exposed to it. But what Ed said is true. It holds an unbelievable amount of knowledge..."           

“And you’re telling us that we  _come_ from such a thing?” Goliath asked, and Edward didn’t even have to see his scowl to hear the doubt and confusion the Gargoyle was feeling.           

Edward nodded. “At least that’s our hypothesis. There’s still a lot that we don’t know. And quite frankly, given the shit we saw inside the Gate, I think it’s better if we don’t know…”           

“Wait…” Broadway said. “Something doesn’t add up. You said that Titania returned your Alchemy to you by giving you a new energy source. And yet you said that this Gate was the source of your power.”           

 “It… was the source of our power in Amestris…” Alphonse replied hesitantly. “But we can’t access the flow of power on this side of it…”           

“Why?” Lexington asked. “If the souls of both worlds come from the Gate… then why wouldn’t it work here?”           

Alphonse looked at the ground, the shadows falling over his face so that no one could see that his eyes were starting to waver. Edward bit his lip in apprehension as he looked towards the moon.            

_They were on a hillside facing the south side of London, the citizens watching in terror as the bombs dropped. For every minute that passed, a dome of fire incinerated the city, followed by a boom that shook the very air. Edward looked on at the scene before him in horrified awe in eyes that weren't his, in a body that belonged to a boy that shared his name but was born in a world much different from his own. Airplanes didn't exist in Amestris, or anywhere else that he knew of, so as even though he was afraid, his scientific mind couldn't help but be curious about the strange flying machines._

_His train of thought was derailed when the man who called himself Edward’s father, the man who shared his brother’s dark blonde hair and Edward’s golden eyes, started to speak, not even turning around to face Edward._             

_“This world is tragically violent," Hohenheim said, a subtle hint of sadness creeping into his voice. “Throughout the course of this war millions of people have been killed with the use of highly toxic gases, but the single most terrifying instrument of death is yet to come. You saw it in the Gate, didn't you?”_

_Before Edward could even respond, his mind flashed to an unknown city, where he was looking down from the sky. There was a bright flash of light and a bang so loud he thought he would go deaf, and the entire city was consumed by smoke and fire and ash. The explosion was so massive that a mushroom-shaped column of smoke expanded to absorb his point in the sky, and the entire world went dark…_

_His father’s voice brought him back to reality.  “The lives of those that have died and will die in this world become the energy for the alchemy used in ours," Hohenheim said._

_Edward's heart leaped to his throat. "The energy?” he choked out. “That doesn't make sense...What about the-”_

_“-law of Equivalent Exchange?” his father finished. “There's something you don't understand. It takes more than equal mass to restore a broken radio. The energy used to put it back together must come from somewhere, too. And energy cannot be created or destroyed; only redirected.”_

_Edward looked down at the ground so that his father couldn't see his wavering eyes. "So that's the secret? The lives of the people who die here cross the Gate and become energy we need for transmutations? Is that what you're telling me?"_

_His father turned to face him. “Inside all of us, there lies a smaller version of the Gate you passed through. Alchemists have the ability to open their Gates, crossing worlds and feeding off the tragedies of this one. It happens every time you draw a circle or clap hands…”_

“That’s just how it is…” Edward said. “It’s a law that we just don’t have any control over…”           

"But thanks to Titania, we don't have to worry about it anymore," Alphonse said, his voice cheering up a bit. "And now we can use Alchemy to help you as we see fit."           

“Uh huh…” Brooklyn went. “And besides the fact that Titania outright ordered you to… why help out strangers?”           

 “‘Alchemists be thou for the people.’” Alphonse said. “It’s an Alchemist’s duty is to help those in need of it. You seem like good people, so why wouldn’t we help you?”             

Hudson snorted, but Edward saw that the old man was trying not to smile. "‘You look like good people' the boy says. You are bizarre humans, ya know boy? Most humans we've met hate us because of how we look."           

"It's not your body that makes you a person, it's your soul," Edward said. "Although maybe Al did jump the gun a bit. I'm sure you all are…." Edward stopped for a moment to shoot a glare at Xanatos and Brooklyn. "Well,  _most of you_ , are good people… but we don’t know anything about you. We’ve told you about us. So…”           

“You wish to know who  _we_ are," Goliath concluded.           

Edward nodded. “Equivalent Exchange. We give something, you give something of equal value.”           

Goliath took a deep breath. “I suppose that’s fair. At the very least, the fact that you haven’t done anything against us, despite the power that you wield, shows that you are trustworthy.”           

“So what do you want to know?” Elisa asked.           

 “Oh, where I start….?” Edward muttered, looking Goliath up and down. “I guess for starters… If humans hate you so much, then why do you live in the middle of a heavily populated city?”           

Brooklyn glared at Xanatos. “Trust us, kid. We didn’t exactly have a choice in the matter, and it’s a lllooonnnggg story….”           

“Well, we have all night…” Edward said, taking a seat against the stone railing of the battlement. Alphonse took a seat next to him, looking at the Gargoyles. “Just give us the important bits.”           

“Ok…” Brooklyn said. “I guess that’s reasonable.”             

"To answer your question, we aren't originally from New York," Goliath said. "We were originally from Scotland. One thousand years ago, we were part of a much larger Clan at Wyvern Hill…"           

 “Wait, a thousand years ago?” Edward exclaimed. “What, are Gargoyles immortal too?”           

“No…” Brooklyn said sadly. “No, most of us aren’t.”           

 “Most of you?” Alphonse asked.           

"Some other time," Hudson said off-handily.             

"Trust us," Lexington said. "That's a whole other can of worms."           

“Anyway…” Goliath continued. “One-thousand years ago, we lived in Wyvern Hill with the rest of our clan. When I was young, a group of humans migrated there to claim the land, only to find us.”             

"I was the leader of the Clan around this time," Hudson said. "I met their leader Prince Malcolm, and we… admittedly didn't like each other too much at first, but over time we became friends. His Majesty was impressed by our Clan's strength and skill, so we forged an alliance. His people and our Clan would share Wyvern Hill. We'd guard them against invaders, and they'd protect us during our stone sleep. So, Malcolm's people moved to the hill and built a castle where human and Gargoyle alike lived together."            

 “Uh huh…” Edward nodded thoughtfully. Then, he blurted without a hint of hesitance. “So, who screwed it up?”            

“Edward!” Alphonse exclaimed.           

“What?” Edward cried defensively. “They’re here and not in Scotland! Something had to have gone horribly wrong!”             

Hudson sighed. "Aye, you're not wrong, lad. The first thing that happened that was Prince Malcolm and his wife perished. It wouldn't have been a problem if his daughter, Princess Katherine, wasn't so afraid of us, Gargoyles."           

“Why would she be afraid of you guys if you were supposed to protect her people?” Edward asked.             

Hudson looked at the moon with a sorrowful expression, not looking at the brothers in the eye. "We  _tried_ to protect then, Elrics. But there were a few times that we weren't successful. One of those times… Princess Katherine was right there when her father was nearly killed by the Archmage. I was there, and yet I could do nothing as Prince Malcolm got cursed. We managed to find the counter spell in time, but the trauma of seeing her father nearly died… She blamed me, and the rest of the Gargoyles who failed to protect him."           

"It certainly didn't help that Prince Malcolm told her horror stories about us whenever she was disobedient as a child," Goliath said.           

"Wow," Edward muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose at the stupid thing he just heard. "What an asshole…"             

Hudson glared at Edward. "Watch yer tongue, boy. Malcolm might not have been the sharpest sword in the armory, but he was our friend nonetheless."             

"Sorry," Edward said offhandedly. "So, let me guess, when Malcolm died, his daughter who hated you Gargoyles took the throne?"              

"Yes…" Goliath sighed. "We tried our best to please her, but in the end, she couldn't overcome her fear of us. Over time, her people saw her fear of us and followed her example. The humans shunned us, threw food and rocks as we passed, and eventually, we weren't even allowed inside the castle we helped create. The friction between our people grew worse and worse… until…”           

"Something gave," Alphonse concluded.           

“It…” Edward noticed Goliath’s voice falter a bit before he continued. “It was our second in command. After decades of the human’s castigating us, she had enough. Behind all our backs, she conspired with another human, the captain of the guard, who hated the way the queen was treating us. At the time, the Vikings were invading our castle, so they exploit that. They planned on having me lead the Clan far away to pursue the Vikings, therefore when the sun rose, we’d be away from the castle when the Vikings attacked again in the morning. Then, the Vikings would pillage the castle and force everyone out, leaving Castle Wyvern empty for the Gargoyles. But…”           

 Goliath's gaze turned to the moon, and though Edward couldn't see his face, the regret and sorrow in the Gargoyle's voice were palpable. "I only took myself and Hudson to pursue the Vikings. I didn't want to risk the rest of the Clan being killed. But… I didn't know my second in command and the captain had sabotaged the castle's weapons. As a result, the castle was defenseless when the Vikings attacked, and after the Vikings cleared out the humans who lived there, they shattered the Gargoyles who were in stone sleep."           

 Goliath stopped talking for a moment, and all that could be heard was of the wind blowing through the clouds. Edward looked at the other Gargoyles, and they didn't look much better than Goliath. Lexington was looking down at the ground, and his wide eyes were wavering as if he was about to cry. Hudson's gaze was towards the moon, his scarred, withered face filled with longing. Brooklyn was also staring at the sky, but his beaked face was twisted in a furious glare. Broadway was in tears and was noiselessly staring at the corner of the battlement so that the others wouldn't see. Angela seemed to have noticed though, and she had her hand in the more massive Gargoyle, trying to comfort him.           

"I'm…" Edward's voice caught in his throat. He never was good at this sort of thing but… he definitely understood. The Gargoyles lost their entire family in one night just because two assholes decided to take matters into their own hands.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," Alphonse said because Edward couldn't. "That must've been awful."           

"Don't patronize us kid," Brooklyn grunted. "We know."           

“I do mean it though.” Alphonse kept going. “I mean, me and Edward never lost our entire family like that but… we’ve lost people too. It hurts, and no matter how much time passes, it never goes away entirely…”           

“Al…” Edward cut in, silencing his brother with a look. He turned his gaze back to the Gargoyles. “What Al is saying is that… we get it. I mean, we can’t say we can fully understand how you feel but… we get it. We know what it means to lose your family.”           

 Brooklyn gave Edward a strange look, and now that his eyes weren’t glowing in anger, Edward could see that the red Gargoyle had irises as green as an emerald. “Everyone’s got dead people, kid….”           

“So how did you end up here in this time?” Alphonse asked.           

"When Hudson and I arrived back in the castle the next night, we vowed to avenge our fallen Clan," Goliath replied. "We found Brooklyn, Broadway, and Lexington in the rookery, where they were spared from the destruction of the rest of the Clan, and we pursued the Vikings. We drove them off and slew a great many. But the leader of the Vikings, Hakon, stole away the princess before the Magus's eyes."            

“The Magus?” Edward asked.           

“The court wizard.” Brooklyn clarified.             

"He thought that the Viking leader had killed the princess because we had come," Goliath said. "He blamed us. In his anger, while I was going after Hakon, the Magus cast a spell on the other Gargoyles, turning them to stone. By the time Hakon had perished, and I had rescued the princess, the Magus had already turned them into statues. I demanded that he turn them to normal, but the counterspell had been burned by the Vikings. The only way to undo the spell was to ‘make the castle rise above the clouds.'"           

 “That bastard!” Edward cried.           

"Did he ever regret it once he realized the princess was alive?" Alphonse asked.           

 “Immensely so” Goliath replied, turning back to face the Alchemists. “The princess was also grateful that I had saved her life, and she and the Magus agreed to watch over the eggs that our rookery sisters had laid in the absence of the rest of the Clan. After I had settled that, I asked the Magus to cast his spell on me. That way, if the spell ever broke, I would awaken with them…”           

"Goliath…" Alphonse muttered, looking at the Gargoyle sadly. Edward couldn't blame him. Goliath tried to make it seem like he was just trying to make sure his Clanmates weren't alone, but it looked more to Edward, and apparently to Alphonse, that Goliath didn't want to be alone in the world. It seemed to have been very unlikely that the spell would be broken, so it was more than likely that he and the rest of his Clan would be stone forever. He might as well have been dead, and yet he still found being stone with the rest of Clan preferable to being alone out in the world…           

 “So you were petrified like that for a thousand years?” Edward asked. “And that’s how you survived for so long?”           

Hudson nodded. “Aye, lad. So long as we’re out in the sun, we can survive long periods of time in stone, because we don’t age and we don’t need to eat.”           

“How’d you break free from the spell?” Alphonse asked.           

 "That was my doing," Xanatos said. "The Magus chronicled all of what happened during the invasion of Castle Wyvern in the  _Grimorum Arcanorum_. I bought the grimoire, read what he wrote, and decided to see if the condition for the spell was true. With my wealth and resources, I was able to manage.”             

The Elric brothers stared at Xanatos blankly. "So, let me get this straight…" Edward said incredulously. "You disassembled the entire castle, transported all of the pieces all the way across the sea to America, and built this entire tower just to construct the castle on the top of it?"

 "Yes," Xanatos replied like he was just confirming the weather with a friend.           

“….Why….?” Alphonse asked.           

Xanatos shrugged. “Because I could.”          

“Ya know…” Edward said. “I’m not sure why I expected any other answer….”           

“Well… at least the Gargoyles were freed because of it” Alphonse offered.           

“Indeed” Goliath hummed. “Thanks to Xanatos’s machinations, we live again. It was hard, especially with how much things had changed from the age we were from. But in time, we adapted to life in the city. But we remained the shadows, unknown to the public eye. We didn’t know how humanity would accept us, and with the reinvigorated interest in science, we feared being trapped in a testing facility. So we made sure that other than trustworthy humans who found out about us on their own…” Goliath gave a small smile at Elisa before finishing. “Such as Detective Maza, humans didn’t know about our existence.” Goliath’s smile faded. “That is until…”           

“The fucking Hunters….” Brooklyn growled.           

“Who?” Alphonse asked.           

 "Some idiots who blamed the entirety of Gargoyle kind for the actions of one" Brooklyn grumbled. "Long story short, they went after us, and things got so bad that we were exposed to the public. And now the entire city wants our heads on pikes."           

“Ouch” Edward went. “Well, I’m starting to see why Titania thinks you need help. Though I’m not sure what exactly she had in mind for  _us…_ ”              

“Your guess is as good as ours, Edward” Angela said. “Perhaps she believes you can help establish peace between us and the city…”           

“Or perhaps there’s a new enemy that only they can help with?” Goliath pondered.           

“Oh is that so?” a new voice sardonically called from above. “And haven’t you already collected enough enemies already, oh great leader?”           

 Everyone looked to the sky, and before anyone could even react, something landed at the other edge of the battlement.            

It was another Gargoyle, a female that looked around Goliath’s age. She was tall, hairless, and had light brown skin and burnt-red wings. She wore a dark red tunic that went down to her knees and left her wings open at the back. Curiously, much like Hudson, she had two brow ridges running from above her eyes to behind her pointed ears. But the thing that really stood out to Edward was her eyes. The other Gargoyles had eyes that were like humans in color and shape, but this new one had irises that were violet like an amethyst and pupils that were silted like a cat’s. It… reminded Edward of…           

Edward shook his head. No… it couldn't be. It was a Gargoyle. There were probably more that had eyes like that…            

His thoughts were interrupted as Alexander started crying without warning. Fox turned her gaze at her baby as she tried to coax him to calm down. Xanatos’s eyes shifted down him in worry for a moment, before turning his steely gaze back at the new Gargoyle.           

Elisa blinked in surprise at the sudden appearance. “Goliath… who…?”           

"Is this another Clan mate…?" Edward started to ask but stopped when he saw the expressions on every Gargoyle except Angela's face. All of them were staring at the new Gargoyle wide-eyed in shock. Hudson's hand was trembling, and Edward could even see the slightest shudder in the Clan leader's eyes.            

"Y…you…" Goliath's voice was a whisper as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "I… remember you… you were back shattered back at Wyvern…"           

"Don't look so disappointed, Goliath." The Gargoyle woman replied dryly, rolling her eyes.            

At those words, the Gargoyles swarmed around her, and they were all talking at once.           

“How did you survive?” Lexington asked.           

“How are you still alive now?” Brooklyn practically demanded.           

“How did you find…?” Broadway began.           

“Boys, boys…” The woman urged, waving the younger Gargoyles with a wave of her hand. “One question at a time.”           

“Father…” Angela murmured, looking at Goliath with curiosity and confusion. “Who is this?”           

"This is one of my rookery sisters, Angela," Goliath replied, and he gave the biggest smile Edward had ever seen on him. "She was particularly close your mother and me."           

"If by 'particularly close,' you mean 'constantly at each other's throats.'" The Gargoyle woman snorted.            

Hudson laughed. “Aye, ya always did give Goliath and Demona a hard time about proper leadership! Make no mistake Angela! This one’s bark is as good as her bite! Which is to say, it’s quite painful!”           

"I'll take that as a compliment." The violet-eyed Gargoyle said flatly.            

“What’s your name?” Angela asked.           

The female raised an eyebrow at her. “Name… other than the name the humans have Goliath, we don’t have names…”           

"We decided it would be convenient if we had names," Goliath replied.            

“Oh?” The woman crowed. “Was it for the  _human’s_  benefit? It wouldn’t be the first time you went against the Gargoyle way to appease them…”           

Goliath blinked as if the woman had slapped him. But before he could respond, Angela said. "We didn't do it for them. We just wanted to be able to tell each other apart better. I'm Angela!"           

“Angela, hmm? Did you pick that name for yourself, rookery child?”           

“No.” Angela shook her head. “The humans who raised me did?”           

The woman's violet eyes twitched, and Edward's stomach lurched inexplicably. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something… off about this Gargoyle. The doll-like way she moved, the empty look in her eyes, the barely restrained malice in her voice…            

It was then Edward noticed something on the Gargoyle’s body. A red node, with a red streak that ran through her clothes and on her skin…           

No… it couldn’t be…           

Edward’s eyes shifted to Alphonse, and the poor boy looked as confused as he did. The brother’s eyes met, and they shared a nod. Alphonse then proceeded to slowly and soundlessly inch his way around the Gargoyles, not taking his eyes of the strange woman the entire time.           

To make sure his brother wouldn’t get noticed, Edward started talking. “So… what do we call you? I don’t ‘purple-eyes’ is gonna be appropriate.”           

“What’s it to  _you_ , human?” The woman snapped.           

Edward raised his hands in a warding position. "Don't bite my head off." He said casually. "I'm just trying to be polite."           

“I see you’ve made new human friends, Goliath.” The woman snarled. “Good to see you’ve learned nothing from the last time we associated with them…”           

“Sister…” Goliath said gently, stepping forward to put his hand on her shoulder. In response, the woman seized the leader by the wrist. Goliath growled in pain as the woman squeezed to a painful degree.             

"Of course, you've always been a fool, haven't you?" the Gargoyle woman snarled. "Protecting the humans over your own Clan, even as they treated us worse than dirt! Ignoring all of your Clans grievances just for the sake of some false peace! Leaving your Clan do die while you went on some wild goose chase against the Vikings!"             

Goliath growled, flexing his muscles as he struggled to break his wrist free. It took a few seconds, but he was able to pull it loose with a grunt.            

“What’s your problem, lady?” Brooklyn yelled indignantly. “I remember you were always a bitch, but this is a whole new level!”           

“And you were always a failure if I remember right” the woman growled back.           

"What's wrong with ye, lass?" Hudson yelled though Edward could see the worry on the old man's face. "We just reunited, and the first thing ya do is attack us?"           

“Don’t lecture me, you decrepit old man.” The stranger said, her voice slithering like snakes.           

“What  _ails_ you, sister?" Goliath demanded, looking at the woman with shook and bewilderment.           

By this time, Alphonse had gotten behind the Gargoyle woman, and from what Edward saw of his eyes, he was looking directly at the stranger’s back. Suddenly, his eyes widened in horror.           

“Al?” Edward mouthed to his brother.           

Alphonse shook his head, pointed to his eyes with both fingers, and then pointed to the Gargoyle’s back. Then, he reached behind him, pulled a rock from the ground, and threw it at the stranger’s head.           

“OW!” The Gargoyle screamed as she about-faced to Alphonse’s direction. “Insolent little…!”           

Edward looked at the Gargoyle’s back like Alphonse indicated… and his heart skipped a beat.           

In between at Gargoyles’ wings was a tattoo. An abstract image of a serpent eating its tail as it coiled around a six-pointed star.           

An Ouroboros.           

Edward grit his teeth. “Goliath, step away.” He growled, clapping his hands.           

“What?” Goliath responded, seeming lost.           

“STEP AWAY!” Edward roared. With that, he placed his left hand on his right arm, engulfing it in the bluish-white light of transmutation. His white glove ripped apart as his hand turned into the steel barrel of a machine gun. The Gargoyles only had time to scream, jumping away from Edward as he pointed the gun at the woman.           

Unfortunately for the stranger, she couldn’t see what Edward had been doing because Goliath had been blocking her view. Before she could react, Edward opened fire, raining a volley of high caliber bullets into the Gargoyles’ body.  For a few seconds, the castle echoed with the deafening bangs of machine gun fire as the bullets pierced the stranger’s arm, her chest, her legs, her head. Blood sprayed everywhere, some of it splashing onto Goliath’s face, as the stranger was riddled with so many holes they couldn’t see any skin on her torso.           

Just like that, the bullets stopped as Edward’s mechanical arm clicked empty. At this point, the stranger was so soaked in her own blood, they couldn’t make out any of her features. The stranger swayed for a moment, before falling on what was left of her face.           

"WHAT THE HELL?!?" Brooklyn screamed, leaping forward and tackling Edward to the ground. The red Gargoyle growled in a fury at the Alchemist's face, his eyes utterly white with hatred.           

The baby was shrieking in fear at this point, with Fox trying to cover his eyes and calm him down. She and Xanatos looked shaken and were glaring at Edward, but they were calmer than the boys would have expected.            

“Why did you do that?” Angela wailed. “That was our rookery sister!”           

"Murderer!" Goliath roared, his eyes glowing as he stomped towards Edward with his claws drawn.           

“Calm down!” Edward yelled, not intimidated in the slightest. “She isn’t dead!”           

“What are you babbling on about?” he heard Hudson demand.           

“Give it a sec…” Edward said.           

That statement confused Goliath enough for him to stop for a brief second, but that second was all he needed.           

Suddenly, a crimson light flashed through the battlement, directly behind Goliath. The Gargoyles turned to see that the body of the Gargoyle woman was glowing, red lightning crackling through the pulverized flesh like veins. The body was lifted off the ground with some unseen force, and as the crimson electricity circulated over her ruined flesh, the stranger’s wounds began to heal, the missing pieces of her body growing back. Atom by atom, molecule by molecule, the stranger was reconstructed. The blood was wiped away, her limbs sprouted anew, and the hole in her head sealed shut. After another second, she fell back onto the ground, glaring at Edward with complete contempt as she stood without a scratch on her body.           

The Gargoyles leaped back in horror, Brooklyn getting off Edward and standing with the rest of his Clan.           

“Impostor!” Goliath screamed as Edward got up, wiping the dirt off his coat as he stared down the monster before him.           

The creature ignored Goliath and snarled at Edward. “What gave me away,  _human_?”           

Edward grunted as Alphonse rushed to his brother’s side. “You give yourself far too much credit,  _doll._  You didn’t even try to hide your Ouroboros.”           

The thing that looked like a Gargoyle gave him a malicious grin. “So you know what I am. You must be an Alchemist then!”           

“Edward…” Brooklyn hissed. “What is she?”

….           

“Tell me, John Castaway. Have you ever heard of the Homunculi?”           

Castaway thought for a moment. “If I recall my folklore, Homunculi are little people created by Alchemists. They’re dolls given life and will by strange magic.”           

“Almost” Flamel responded, taking a sip from his tea. “More accurately, Homunculi are artificial beings created by Alchemy. They are what happens when an Alchemist either attempts to create a sentient being from raw elements or tries to resurrect a deceased person. This results in a new sort of life, one that has a mind and a body, but no soul.”           

“Really now?” Castaway replied in a mixture of confusion, unease, and curiosity. “And how does this origin make it better than any other human? Wouldn’t the lack of a soul make it weaker?”           

“In some ways, yes” the Alchemist answered. “Because they don’t have souls, they can’t open the Gate inside them and perform magic or Alchemy. But…” Flamel raised the red stone up to Castaway’s eye level. “Unlike humans and Gargoyles, Homunculi stabilize themselves by absorbing Philosopher’s Stones. As a result, they are much more powerful than any human. Not only are their bodies much faster, stronger, and far more resilient than normal human bodies, they don't age, are immune to all sicknesses and poisons, and can heal from any injury—even those that would result in death. And to add icing to this delicious cake, because they don’t have souls, the molecules that make up their bodies can be rearranged to form other substances, granting a wide variety of shape-changing abilities.”           

“That’s…” Castaway was speechless for a moment. “Amazing. Truly amazing. If this Homunculus is as powerful as you say, then I’m confident with my men’s help, she can destroy those retched Gargoyles!”           

"Honestly, with her abilities, I doubt she'll even need the help," Mr. Flamel said. "And even if the Gargoyles were somehow strong enough to stand up against her, they won't raise a hand against her."           

Castaway furrowed his brow in bewilderment. “What do you mean by that?”           

Mr. Flamel smiled, and there was wickedness in the Alchemist's eyes that made Castaway's stomach tremble. "A Homunculus is a being based on a human that, thanks to the unnatural process behind its creation, is far more powerful than a human being. Tell me, Castaway. How much more powerful would such a being be if it were based on a Gargoyle?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may or may not have based the Homunculus off what Weisman revealed about Hudson's eldest daughter. It isn't revealed in universe because thanks to the way Gargoyles raise their young, no one them know, and no one besides Angela would care if they did know.


	3. Showdown at Castle Wyvern

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Manhattan Clan and the Elric brother band together to defend the Castle. Can they overcome the Homunculus's power?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, this took much longer than it should have. Then again, it's double the length of both chapters...  
> This is the grand finale for this story, folks. Prepare for some intense action and angst!

“Who created you,  _Homunculus_?” Edward bit out, turning his arm back into a fist and crouching into a fighting stance. “Only an Alchemist from the other side of the Gate could know how to make you, and the only ones with access to the planet’s energy are  _Al_ and  _me._ ”           

 “Oh?” The Homunculus cooed condescendingly. “And what makes you so sure about that, Mr. Alchemist?”           

“So there is another Alchemist out there…” Edward concluded grimly.           

“Elric!” Hudson demanded. “Who is this impostor?”           

“She’s a Homunculus!” Alphonse answered. “She’s an artificial lifeform created with Alchemy! A living doll!”           

"She's a fake Gargoyle, Goliath!" Edward screamed, glaring at the Homunculus like it had just murdered someone before his eyes. "Someone made her do their dirty work! And apparently, they saw it fit to make her in the image of your Clan-mate!"

 Goliath snarled in a fury, his eyes burning white at the false Gargoyle. "You dare stand before me wearing the face of my dead Clan-sister?"

 The Homunculus quietly chuckled at the Clan leader's rage. "Fake... Artificial… Impostor… You seem to be under the impression that my existence is false simply because I used to be some fallen warrior…. I assure you, I am me, and I'm very real…"           

“Can it, Fake!” Brooklyn cried. “Why are you here?”           

“Well…” the Homunculus said, looking off to the side innocently. “I  _could_ tell you, but…” The Homunculus flashed a side-ways, demented grin. “I’d rather  _show_ you!”

 At that, the Homunculus leaped at Goliath with a roar. Goliath roared back and tried to intercept the woman with a swipe of his claw, but the Homunculus was too fast and kicked Goliath in the chest so hard the Gargoyle was knocked over the side of the battlement.           

“Goliath!” Elisa yelled as she drew her pistol and pointed it at the Homunculus.           

 Xanatos pulled his pistol out as well as he called to his wife and butler, “Get Alex out of here!”                 

Fox nodded, holding her crying baby close as she and Owen ran down the stairs of the battlement.           

Before either Elisa or Xanatos could take aim with their pistols, the other Gargoyles charged the Homunculus, blocking their shots. Hudson unsheathed his sword and swung at the woman, but the Homunculus jumped out of the way of the blade. Broadway and Lexington tried to charge from the side, but the Homunculus swept Broadway's feet from under him, knocking the fat Gargoyle into the tiny one. Brooklyn and Angela leaped over Hudson and tried to strike her, only for the Homunculus to do a spinning kick to Brooklyn's side, knocking him and Angela down in one blow. Hudson roared, charging forward to swing his sword again. The Homunculus grinned as she ducked to the side, neatly dodging the blow before punching the old Gargoyle in his stomach. Even with his leather armor and fat gut, the strike was so hard that Edward could have sworn that he saw the Homunculus's fist from Hudson's back. Hudson gave a sound that as if he was a gutted fish before the Homunculus knocked him to the wall of the battlement with a punch to the face.           

“Weaklings” the Homunculus scuffed.

 Unfortunately for her, now that the Gargoyles were out of the way, Elisa and Xanatos had clear shots, and they immediately opened fire. Before the Gargoyle could react, she was pierced by bullets from Elisa and lasers from Xanatos. However, unlike before, she continued to stand as she was shot. After around ten rounds from each of them, both shooters stopped, and to their horror, the red lightning crackled again, sealing her wounds.

"Did you really think that work?" she gloated. In response, there was a loud clap, and a blue light appeared below the Homunculus's feet. The ground dissolved, and Homunculus fell with a piercing scream.

Elisa looked where the light had come from, only to see a grinning Alphonse with his right palm on the ground. “Guess she didn’t know I was an Alchemist too!”

There was a roar, and the humans at the tower looked behind them to see Goliath climbing over the wall of the battlement with a furious look on his face. The other Gargoyles groaned as they stood back up on their feet, rubbing the parts of their bodies where the Homunculus had struck.

“Goliath!” Elisa exclaimed in relief. “Are you…?”

"I'm fine, Elisa," Goliath replied, surprisingly gentle despite his anger.

“Is everyone all right?” Alphonse called.

“I’ve been better…” Brooklyn muttered.

Edward looked down in thought. “Guys, you said you recognized her right? That means she looks like one of your Clanmates who died?”           

“Yes…” Goliath replied. “She… looked like my Clan-sister… Why?”

 "Well…" Edward began, but before he could finish, the whirling of a helicopter echoed above their heads. Everyone on the battlement looked up to see a light-blue chopper with a golden hair insignia embedded on the side.            

“Quarrymen!” Lexington cried, tackling Alphonse to the ground just before a machine gun started firing from the helicopter. The Gargoyles scattered, Goliath grabbing Elisa, Hudson grabbing Xanatos, and Lexington grabbing Alphonse. Edward called out to one of the Gargoyles, but they already took off from the battlement.           

A bullet grazed Edward’s cheek. “Damn it!” the Alchemist growled as he clapped his hands and transmuted a wall of stone between him and the helicopter. The wall blocked the rain of bullets, but now Edward was pinned down. How was he going to get out?

 "Going somewhere, Goliath?" a familiar voice shrieked. The Homunculus leaped up from the hole in the floor and landed with a wicked grin. She looked up at the Gargoyles circling above, trying their hardest to avoid the gunfire. Then, the Homunculus turned her gaze to Edward, and his heart leaped to his throat. "Well, if you won't face me yourself, I'll have to see if your Alchemist friend has the stones to fight!"            

The Homunculus shrieked, charging at Edward with an outstretched claw. Damn it! She was too fast! Edward couldn’t…!           

Just before the Homunculus took a swipe at him, something red swooped in from the sky and scooped Edward up, holding him tight to a muscular chest. Edward cried out as he was swiftly carried to the edge of the roof, his arms flailing a bit to try and regain his footing.           

“Hang on!” Brooklyn commanded as he jumped off the roof, holding Edward so tight that Edward wasn’t sure if he lost his breath from the sheer pressure or from his stomach lurching from gravitational forces on his body.

 "Holy Hell!" Edward screamed the Gargoyle youth left the ground, leaving them hanging in the clouds, well above the tallest buildings in New York City. Brooklyn dipped down, and for a scary second, it looked like they were about to fall, but to Edward's surprise, they quickly leveled out, and they were flying through the clouds.           

 “We’re…” Edward stammered in disbelief. “We’re flying?”           

Brooklyn’s chest heaved incredulously. “What? You thought these wings were just for show?”           

“You won’t get away, monsters!” someone shouted through an intercom from the helicopter. Suddenly, the air was filled with the rapid bangs of machine gun fire, and Brooklyn twisted in the air to avoid them, making Edward’s stomach lurch.           

 “We need to do something about that gun!” Xanatos called from somewhere above Edward and Brooklyn.           

“No shit!” Edward shouted back.           

“Wait… are they trying to land?” Brooklyn asked.           

Edward looked at the helicopter, and sure enough, it was hovering right over the battlement. Three people jumped off from the vehicle, though it was too dark and they were too far away for Edward to make out their features.            

“It’s the Pack!” Lexington growled. Apparently, his eyesight was much better than a human’s in the dark.           

“Who?” Edward asked.           

 “Ugh!” Brooklyn grunted in disgust. “Old enemies of ours! Quarrymen must have hired them!”

Ten more people jumped off the helicopter, some armed with rifles. They shouted a few orders at the first three people who landed and started shooting at the Gargoyles along with the aircraft. To Edward's amazement, the Gargoyles' still managed to avoid the gunfire, but it was only a matter of time before someone was shot.

 "Okay, that does it!" Xanatos called, pressing some buttons on his watch. “I’m calling in the Calvary!”           

“Calvary?” Edward shouted back.           

“You’ll see!” Xanatos replied. “We just need to survive until…”           

“You won’t last the minute!” the Homunculus retort, taking flight with a howl and launching herself at Goliath.           

Before the Homunculus could impact the Gargoyle, the detective in the lavender Gargoyle’s arms shot her in the forehead with her pistol. The Gargoyle screeched as her flight path faltered just enough to sail right under Goliath’s legs.           

“Nice shot Elisa!” Broadway called as he weaved around a volley of bullets.           

The Homunculus growled as the crimson lightning flashed through her body, fixing the hole in her head as she righted herself. “You won’t get away!” she cried, turning around to charge Goliath again… only for a red laser to pierce her wing from above.           

“Gah!” the Homunculus cried as something large and metallic crashed into her, knocking her into the building.           

It was then Edward become aware of the sounds of engines, like a series of rockets being launched. He looked up to see what looked like half a dozen steel grey Goliaths flying through the air, shooting lasers at the people on the battlement.           

Edward rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t going insane. “What… the hell?!”           

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Steel Clan has arrived!” Xanatos announced.           

Edward opened his mouth to ask what the hell the Steel Clan was, but Brooklyn beat him to it. “They’re robots that Xanatos made.”           

“Why do they look like Goliath?” Edward asked.           

“Long story…” Brooklyn said. “The important thing is they’re getting those gunners off our butts.”          

The crimson Gargoyle was right. Now that the gunners were being shot at, they were focusing their attention on the robots so they could be destroyed before they were shot. Even the helicopter was aiming its machine gun at the Steel Clan, rather than the flesh and blood Gargoyles.            

 “Now’s our chance!” Edward yelled. “Throw me at the copter! I’ll destroy it in one shot!”           

“You crazy?” Brooklyn protested. “You’ll right in the line of fire!”           

“I don’t care!” Edward countered. “What’s important is keeping you guys and my little brother safe!”           

The beaked Gargoyle gave Edward an unsure look, before sighing in defeat. “I hope you know what you’re doing!” Brooklyn shouted as he flew back up towards the battlement, flying himself to the side of the rising helicopter. None of the shooters had noticed the red Gargoyle’s presence, as they were too busy trying to shoot down the Steel Clan.           

“Now Brooklyn!” Edward commanded. With a growl of fury, Brooklyn obeyed, twisting his body in the air to build momentum and then throwing Edward at the helicopter with all his strength. Without missing a beat, Edward clapped his hands as he soared through the air, over the battlement, and just before he smacked into the helicopter, he pressed both palms onto the vehicle.           

The entire battlement lit up as the helicopter shined like a star in the night. The intruders turned their heads in shock as the transmutation started, but it was already far too late. Once the blue-white light covered the entire helicopter, it suddenly burst apart into tiny pieces. It wasn’t that it got blown up in an explosion. It was as if the helicopter just blew apart molecule by molecule, until it was nothing but tiny grains of steel and glass, leaving the pilot inside entirely unharmed. The pilot on had time to give a shout of disbelief before the small shards of metal and glass fell harmlessly to the floor like sand.           

“How do ya like that?!" Edward gloated as he landed on the ground. The intruders looked at Edward in shock and disbelief, but before the gunners could shoot at the red-coated Alchemist, the Steel Clan launched a volley of lasers at them, scattering the gunners. Edward grinned in triumph. He took out one of the two backbones of their assault. Now the Gargoyles could deal with the stragglers.            

“Fucking kid!” a shrill voice shrieked. “What did you do?”           

Edward turned to glare at the intruder who had the nerve to speak to him after what he just did. He saw three people, the first three people who had landed in the castle. The Pack.           

The one who had spoken was a woman. She had a slender build, wild brown hair, and crazy brown eyes. She was dressed in a reddish-brown leotard that had metal bits attached to it and what looked like golden armor that left her midriff exposed. Upon closer inspection, it seemed that those metal extensions were mechanical parts of her body. Some sort of advanced automail…           

Right behind the woman was a man with a similar thin build and brown hair. With just one look, Edward could tell the man was the woman’s twin. Edward didn’t see the same sort of madness that his sister had, but rather a chilling aloofness to the havoc happening around him. Like his sister, the slender man had golden mechanical plates along the top half of his body. However, his right eye had been replaced by a crimson lens that was glowed with a piercing hateful light.           

Towering over both of the mechanical siblings was an absolute mountain of a man. He didn't have any mechanical parts on his body, but he was freaky in his own way. Grey fur covered his entire body from head to toe, he had claws on his hands and feet, his canines were sharp and protruded from his lip, and his eyes were yellow and silted like a dog's. He still had silver, human-like hair on the top of his head that he wore in a long ponytail, and he wore blue tights and a shirt that had a golden wolf insignia on the chest.            

“Huh…” Edward grunted as he looked at the trio up and down. “You three look a bit more interesting than the rest of these goons.” He looked at the furry man who was snarling in his direction. “You some sort of wolf-chimera?”           

The man flashed a wicked grin, displaying all his sharp teeth. “I did have wolf DNA spliced into me. Now I’m stronger than any of those Gargoyles!”           

Edward glared. “Got some sort of grudge?”           

“Damn right!” The woman screamed. “Those stupid Gargoyles keep getting in our way of getting rich!”           

"Does your way of getting rich involve robbing people at knifepoint?" Edward asked.            

“More like robbing banks and museums.” The thin cyborg man said.           

“Then I don’t have to feel bad about  _this_!" Edward shouted with a clap of his hands. The castle flooring flashed blue, and the thin man and woman dodged out of the way of a giant stone fist that burst from the floor. Unfortunately for the wolf-man, he couldn't react in time, so he got slammed in the gut by the fist of rock. The wolf-man screamed as he was sent flying to the edge of the battlement.           

“Son of a-“ the woman cried, and to Edward's disgust, a piece of her arm broke off, revealing the barrel of a gun. Edward barely had enough time to roll to the side before the woman started shooting lasers. However, just as sprung to his feet, the cyborg man intercepted him and slashed at Edward with his claws. The claws scraped across Edward's right arm, tearing his coat and shirt, revealing his prosthetic arm of grey steel.

Edward grunted in frustration as he dodged a few more of the man's strikes before the man kicked him back with a vicious grin. "Well!" the man exclaimed, looking at Edward's automail arm. “It looks like Hyena and I aren’t the only freaks here!”           

“I’m nothing like you!” Edward retorted through grit teeth.           

The woman, apparently called Hyena, gave a demented cackle. “Really? So you  _don’t_ have whole parts of your body replaced with metal? What, you ashamed of the lengths you went to get stronger?”           

“I don’t have this to be stronger!” Edward screamed. “I have this arm because I need it!”           

"I'm sure," Hyena said dismissively, and without warning, she thrust her arm at Edward's direction. Edward tried to jump away, but the laser still hit him on his left leg. Edward stumbled with a cry, and collapsed to the ground, holding his leg. 

 The metallic brother laughed in triumph as he charged forward, swinging down with his claw to impale Edward… only for Edward to sweep the man's legs out from underneath him with his shot leg. The man cried out as he fell and hit his head hard on the ground.

 "Jackal!" Hyena exclaimed in fury and confusion. He aimed her gun but was interrupted by a voice from above. 

 "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM!" Alphonse screamed as he jumped from Lexington's arms and slammed down on Hyena's head with a high-pitched cry. Hyena screeched in shock as she was knocked into the ground by Alphonse, who followed up his surprise attack by clapping and pressing his hand to the woman's left arm. There was a blue-white flash, and the golden arm broke in half.            

“Get off me!” Hyena screamed, kicking off Alphonse off her. Alphonse gracefully landed on his feet, quickly transmuted a staff from the floor of the battlement and charged at Hyena with a cry.           

Meanwhile, the cyborg man, apparently called Jackal, stood up, glaring at Edward with his mechanical, blood-red eye. “Why aren’t you hurt?” he growled.           

"Sorry," Edward said flatly, standing up and pointing at the hole the laser left in his pants. Much like his right arm, his left leg was made of automail. “I’m made of tougher stuff than you are.”           

Jackal sneered. “Your leg too, huh? What sort of accident were you in?”           

“None of your business” Edward said, transmuting his arm so that a sharp blade stuck out from the wrist.           

Jackal lashed at Edward with his claws, but the Alchemist saw it coming and blocked it with his automail blade. Edward responded with a kick that Jackal dodged. Edward took a swing with his sword, but Jackal avoided that too.             

 _Damn it!_ Edward thought as he barely dodged the man’s claws, losing a few strands of his golden hair in the process.  _This guy’s fast!_ Edward growled in irritation, clapping his hands and transmuting a few stone hands to try and pin down Jackal, but the cyborg leaped past all of them and lunged at Edward. Edward leaped back as Jackal swung, but suddenly his chest burned. Edward hissed, his left hand automatically clenching his chest to try and dull the pain. When he pulled his hand back, there was blood on his fingers, welling up through his clothes from four slash marks on his chest.           

Edward looked up in time to be able to duck under another swing from Jackal. Edward jumped back a few steps, only for Jackal to cackle. “I think it’s a good ten years too early for you to join the big leagues, little boy!”

Edward saw red as the cyborg rushed at him again. His anger at the insult spurring him on, Edward charged Jackal head-on, rearing his automail arm back as he roared in a fury, "DON'T CALL ME LITTLE!" Edward swung his automail blade at the same time that Jackal clawed at him.             

Edward’s blade had caught Jackal’s claw at the wrist, and the grin that had been plastered on the mercenary’s face was wiped away as Edward’s automail sword cleaved the cybernetic arm with a screech of metal on metal that rang through the battlement. A split second later, the cyborg’s hand was sliced clean off, the force of the blow sending it soaring off the castle and into the clouds below.           

Jackal jumped away from Edward, landing on the edge of the battlement with a grunt. He looked down in shock at his severed head with hissing wires sticking out from it. He turned his gaze at Edward, who was grinning in triumph at the mercenary’s momentary defeat. “Like I said, I’m made of tougher stuff than you.” The Alchemist said.

 Jackal growled in a fury. Suddenly, his head snapped to the side as he screamed "Wolf!"            

The wolf-man that Edward had downed was getting up, and upon Jackal’s shout, he glared with sickly yellow eyes. With a growl, the bulky mass of muscle and fur rushed at Edward with frightening speed. Edward tried to jump to the side, only for Jackal to kick his feet out from under him and knock him to the ground. By the time Edward rolled into his hands and feet, Wolf was already too close for Edward to react…

 Suddenly, Lexington swooped down on Wolf's head and yanked at the Chimera's ears, making Wolf swerve to the side and miss Edward.  Jackal growled and tried to lunge at Edward, but by the time he did, the Alchemist had recovered and kicked Jackal in the stomach with his automail leg, knocking him away.           

"Lexington!" Edward cried, turning his attention to the little Gargoyle who was currently wrapped around Wolf's head and trying to cover his eyes with his claws. Wolf struggled in vain to peel the khaki Gargoyle's hands off his face, and then, with a snarl, he grabbed Lexington by the waist and threw him to the ground. Lexington cried out in pain as Wolf pinned him in place with a stomp. Wolf grinned baring his claws at the Gargoyle as he prepared to dig his talons into his heart.

 "Get away from him, dammit!" Edward cried as he dashed to the Chimera without a trace of hesitation. Wolf looked up to the voice that shouted as Edward reared his metal fist back and drove it into Wolf's face with all his might. Edward felt the bones in the wolfman's nose shatter under his fist and saw blood spray onto Wolf's face. Wolf screamed and staggered back, but Edward didn't stop, following his punch with a kick to the groin from his automail leg.           

Immediately, Wolf’s shrieked in agony, his voice going up a few pitches as Edward dug into his tender area. A part of the Alchemist winced in sympathy, but the logical part of his brain told him to push that feeling away. These bastards were trying to kill innocent people, and even if the Gargoyles weren’t humans, they had souls and thus were people. He had to protect them, and in a real fight, the goal is to hurt the opponent more than they can hurt you. If that meant fighting dirty, so be it. It wasn’t Edward’s fault these people decided to start the fight.           

 As Wolf fell to the ground, holding his damaged goods, a voice howled behind him. “Bastard!” and Edward turned his head to see a golden claw slashing at this head.

However, just before the Alchemist was about to get his throat slit, a clawed hand grabbed Jackal by the wrist and twisted hard. Jackal squealed in pain as Lexington growled at him with glowing white eyes. Then, Lexington grabbed Jackal by the shoulder and brought the cyborg’s face hard down to his knee, knocking him out.

“Nice save!” Edward praised with a grin as he transmuted stone hands to pin Wolf down by his arms and legs.

“You weren’t bad yourself!” Lexington replied, returning Edward’s grin with a cheeky smirk of his own.

“How you doing, Al?” Edward called.           

To put it bluntly, Alphonse didn’t need any help. Though Edward was a better Alchemist, Alphonse was a better fighter, and Hyena was almost helpless against the young Alchemist in a melee. Every time the cyborg tried to get to a far enough range to blast Alphonse with a laser, the boy would quickly close the distance and smack her wrist out of place with his staff. Every time she tried to lash out with her claw, he’d block with practiced ease.           

“Damn brat!” Hyena screamed. “Stand still and let me gut you!”

 "I'd rather not…" Alphonse deadpanned, punishing an ill-aimed strike from Hyena with a blow to the head from his staff. Hyena reeled back, giving Alphonse a window to pole-vault from his staff and deliver a flying kick to Hyena's stomach.            

“Gah!" Hyena exclaimed as she hit the ground hard. The browned haired mercenary tried to get up, but Alphonse clapped his hands, and she was restrained to the floor by stone shackles bond to her wrists and ankles.           

“Got her!” Alphonse called cheerfully. “Now let’s deal with…”           

Before Alphonse could finish, a robot crashed into the battlement right in between him and Edward, making both Alchemists and the Gargoyle back in fright.           

“Your little toys won’t stop me!” The Homunculus screamed as she soared through the air, grabbing onto another one of Xanatos’s robots and smashing it in half with a single kick. Two other robots were trying to shoot her down, but she spun through the lasers so gracefully it seemed like the most natural thing in the world.           

“Stand down, imposter!” Goliath demanded. “You can’t hope to defeat us in our own home!”           

“I seem to be doing a good enough job on my own!” the Homunculus retorted, grabbing another one the robots, breaking its wing, and throwing it at Goliath. Goliath growled as he dived to evade the incoming robot.           

“Brother, watch out!" Alphonse shouted, running to Edward and clapping his hands. An earthen wall appeared in between the front of Edward, Alphonse, and Lexington just before the intruders opened fire on them.           

“What the?!” Edward screamed, stunned.           

“The robots are too occupied by that Homunculus to keep them busy…” Alphonse surmised.           

“Damn it!” Edward said through gritted teeth. “We’re pinned down!”

 "Goliath!" Elisa called. "Throw me and let me fight down there! You can't fight while carrying me anyway!"           

“Do the same for me, Hudson!” Xanatos yelled.           

There were a couple roars from above. Edward peaked from his cover just in time to see Elisa and Xanatos falling to the ground, taking shots from their pistols as the landed. The intruders scattered from the sudden onslaught, and that was just the opportunity they needed.           

"C'mon Al!" Edward commanded, rushing towards the crowd before they could get a chance to recover. The boys and Lexington punched and kicked whichever unfortunate intruder was close enough for them to hit. A few of the ones who were out of reach grunted in frustration and aimed with their rifles, but they were shot down by Xanatos and Elisa.           

“How everything going up there?” Edward asked Elisa as he kicked a mercenary to the ground.           

“Could be better!” Elisa replied, punching an intruder that tried to charge her in the face.           

“What about the Homunculus?” Alphonse asked.

In answer to his question, there was a loud scream from above. They turned just in time to see Brooklyn crash into the battlement hard he went through the floor. 

 "Brooklyn!" Elisa screamed in panic. She ran to the hole in the floor, and to her relief, Brooklyn hadn't entirely fallen through the castle, having been stopped by the wall. However, there was a dark purple bruise on the side of the red Gargoyle's face, and blood was flowing from his mouth and a deep gash in his stomach.           

“He’s hurt!” Elisa cried, looking at Edward, Alphonse, and Lexington for help.           

Edward ran to the hole, took one look at the state Brooklyn was in and jumped down. He ripped the coat he was wearing off himself, clapped his hands, and transmuted it into strips that wrapped around Brooklyn's chest.            

“Are you okay…?” Edward asked as he helped the Gargoyle to his feet. The Alchemist grimaced as saw the blood well in the makeshift bandage, despite the pressure Edward was sure to apply.           

Brooklyn groaned in pain as he stood up, pressing his hand to his bandage. “We’re getting creamed up there…” he moaned. “She’s…. so powerful. And none of the damage we’re inflicting is sticking. She just heals up when we hurt her….”           

Edward nodded in sympathy as he let Brooklyn lean on his shoulder. "You can't fight a Homunculus head on like that. A human-based one alone is powerful, so I can't imagine how strong one based on Gargoyle is…"                

Brooklyn blinked him through his swollen eye. “You seem to know a lot about what she is…”           

“Yeah…” Edward replied, looking at Brooklyn in the eyes with great intensity.  “I’ve fought her kind before… and I’ve killed two. I know how to fight her. Can you trust me?”           

Brooklyn returned Edward’s gaze, and Edward saw a fiery determination rivaling his own in the Gargoyle’s emerald eyes. “Just don’t screw it up.”           

“Of course!” Edward nodded. With that, the two of them ran up the stairs and back to the top of the battlement.           

The fight in the sky wasn’t going well. The Homunculus was ripping apart robots like they were made of butter. Every time one of the Gargoyles tried to charge her, she’d just swat them away like insects.           

“Come now!” she mocked as she blocked a punch from Broadway and threw him into Hudson. “You’re supposed to be Gargoyle warriors, aren’t you?  And yet all of you together can’t be a single woman? Pathetic! How did you all of you, out all our Clan, survive while all the rest died?”           

“Silence!” Goliath roared, taking a swiping charge that the Homunculus dodged.           

“Goliath!” Brooklyn shouted. “I’m calling a tactical retreat!”           

 “Brooklyn!” Goliath shouted back. “Are you mad?”           

“This is getting nowhere, Goliath!” Brooklyn insisted. “We need to regroup so we can find a way to stop that thing!”           

“Oh, no you don’t!” The Homunculus screamed, but before she could try and intercept any of the Gargoyles, two more robots swooped in and slammed into her, driving her through the wall of the castle.           

“Let’s go, let’s go!” Lexington ordered, grabbing Alphonse and jumping off the battlement.           

"Very well," Goliath grumbled, following Lexington with Elisa in his arms.            

“Can you still fly?” Edward asked Brooklyn.           

“I have to” Brooklyn replied, scooping up Edward in a bridal carry (much to the Alchemist’s embarrassment) and flying down to castle square where his Clan was flying.

 Unfortunately, things weren't much better in the square. There was a circle of six mercenaries gathered around the door, and they were firing rifles at Owen and Fox, who were shooting back with laser pistols. It was currently a stand-still between both sides, but it was only a matter of time before the mercenaries' superior numbers overwhelmed the duo.           

Xanatos’s face twisted with rage. He didn't even wait for the Gargoyles to land. He jumped from Hudson's arms, gun in hand. The mercenaries only had time to turn as Xanatos hit them with a barrage of laser fire. Two were shot down, and the rest were dive bombed into the floor by Goliath, Hudson, Broadway, and Angela.            

Edward and Alphonse jumped out of Brooklyn and Lexington’s arms as soon as they landed and the whole group ran to the door. When they reached it, Xanatos was giving his wife a look-over, trying to make sure she and Alexander were alright.           

“Did they hurt you?” Xanatos asked, worry apparent in his eyes.           

Fox chuckled. “Of course not. These two-bit thugs couldn’t hurt wet tissue paper.”           

A sudden, thrilling roar pierced through the night.           

“Damn it!” Edward hissed. “Everyone, get inside, now!”           

Everyone rushed into the door as the Homunculus soared over a battlement, holding two broken and dismembered robots in each hand. As Edward ran through the door, he clapped his hands and pressed his hands to the floor. Blue light flashed a short distance into a rectangle outside and a piece of the tiling dissolved away, reassembling itself into a wall that blocked the door.

 "That won't hold her for long!" Edward called. "Keep moving!"           

As they started running down the hall, Goliath slowed down so he could talk face to face with Edward. “Brooklyn says you’ve fought her kind before. That you know how to defeat her.”           

Edward nodded. “Al and I have dealt with Homunculi back in our world.”           

As they were talking, Xanatos pressed some buttons on his watch. Edward was confused, but before he could ask, several sections in the wall opened, revealing guns that pointed near the door.           

“Just setting the defense mechanisms of the building.” Xanatos clarified. “So, what can you tell us of the Homunculi?”           

"As we said," Alphonse said as he caught up to everyone. "A Homunculus is an artificial being created by Alchemy. They carry all the form of human beings, or in this case, Gargoyles, but they can always be told apart by the Mark of the Ouroboros."           

 “Ouroboros?” Angela asked.

 "The tattoo of the serpent eating its tail," Edward responded. "Don't be fooled by her resemblance to your kind though. Homunculi are unnatural creatures, and because of the way they're made, they don't have souls. Hell, a freshly made Homunculus is little more than a pile of organs with only the most rudimentary of biological functions. To stabilize themselves, they have to consume human souls.”           

The Gargoyles were utterly aghast at what he just heard. “They… eat souls?” Lexington asked, looking like he swallowed a lemon.           

“Yeah” Alphonse replied grimly.  “As a result of that and the unnatural way they were made, Homunculi have many powers that humans don’t. They are much stronger, faster, and far more resilient than a normal human’s, and as long as they have energy from the souls they consumed, they can heal from any injury. Furthermore, the molecules that make up their bodies are far more malleable than other organic creatures and be rearranged to form other substances or grant shape-changing abilities.”           

"They can shape-shift?" Angela asked as they reached the end of the hall and took a sharp turn to the right. At the same time, a deep rumble shook the building. Just as Edward turned, he glanced to where they had been to see that the Homunculus had broken his barrier with a kick and was struggling to knock two robots clinging to her, snarling the whole time. Before she could throw them off, the turrets attached to the wall fired their lasers, hitting her with so much force it knocked her back outside.           

“Depends on the Homunculus” Edward replied as they increased the pace of their dash. “All the ones we met had different powers. Unless she showed you something out of the ordinary, there’s no way of knowing what the one we’re fighting can do…”           

“Okay…” Xanatos scoffed as they reached another door. He opened it, and they found themselves in a staircase. “How do we beat her then?” he asked as they ran up the stairs.           

"Well, despite their power, the unnatural way they were made gives them several weaknesses," Edward said. "Because they don't have souls, they're incapable of opening the Gate inside them and are thus unable to perform Alchemy. Thanks to what Titania recently revealed to us, it can be assumed they can’t use magic either. Also, the energy that allows them to regenerate isn’t infinite, so if you kill them enough times or use the Flamel Transmutation, they will be reduced to a single soul, making them as vulnerable as any other living thing. Lastly…”                   

Edward stopped talking when the thought occurred to him, as they went through another door and entered another hallway.           

“What is it, boy?” Goliath asked, his eyes narrowing on him in a strange mix of concern and suspicion.            

Edward sighed, steeling himself before continuing. “Goliath, remember when I asked you if she looked like your dead Clan-sister? I asked that because usually, Homunculi are created when someone tries to use Alchemy to bring a dead person back to life.”           

The Gargoyles stopped dead in their tracks, making the humans do the same.           

“What?” Goliath demanded, his voice a low rumble of apprehension.           

Alphonse nodded in confirmation. “I know you all miss your Clan dearly, but we have to ask… did any of you ever try to bring that woman back to life?”           

“Never!” Goliath shouted, his eyes lighting up in indignation. “Our Clan-mates’ lives are sacred to us, as well as their deaths! We’d never be like Xanatos and play God!”

Hudson nodded. "Aye. It slew me when they were slaughtered, but death is a part of life. I know that, and the rest of us know that too. Attempting to reverse death like that would be wrong."

"Besides, you said Homunculi are made with Alchemy," Lexington said. "No one here knows Alchemy or any form of magic. Well, except for…" Lexington and the rest of the Gargoyles turn their gaze to the Xanatos’ and Owen.           

“Don’t look at me!” Xanatos said defensively. “The only Gargoyles I brought back from the dead were Coldstone, Coldfire, and Coldsteel, and I had to make mechanical bodies for Demona to place their souls in! We never tried to make a new body from scratch!”           

“Wait, what?!” Edward screamed.           

“You actually brought dead people to life?!” Alphonse shouted, his aghast in horror and shock.           

“Ehhh….” Xanatos went. “Kind of? Demona and I used a mix of advanced robotics and sorcery to pull it off. I found the remains at Castle Wyvern, attached pieces of them to robots, and had Demona use sorcery to call the souls that were still stuck inside. It was a complicated process, and not really something I can replicate again…"

Edward stared at the man, unable to believe what he just heard. Alchemists had been trying for centuries to figure out how to bring someone dead to life. Hell, the main reason Edward and Alphonse become so good at Alchemy was because they had wanted to find out the secret! And even after all that effort, they put in, they failed! What had been their entire life's work, their hopes, and dreams, all crumbled in one stormy night, and Edward and Alphonse had lost so much because of what they tried to do! It had been hammered into them from then on that the dead could not  _ever_ come back to life. Yet this asshole was telling him that he was able to pull off what centuries of Alchemic research had been unable to do? What many Alchemists had dedicated their lives too? Just how powerful was sorcery in this world that not even the laws of life and death still applied?

Edward's stare turned into a glare as bitterness built up in his chest. Just because he and Alphonse were born in the wrong world, they had failed. Just because they were born in the wrong universe, their mom had to stay dead. Just because they were born in the wrong world, they had to lose their bodies. Edward stomped forward, fully ready to punch that smug bastard in the face for defying the laws of life so casually and callously when he remembered something the man had said.           

“Wait…” Edward said. “You said that you collected their remains… do you still have other remains of the Clan?”           

Xanatos didn't answer, instead of looking at the other Gargoyles. If Edward didn't know any better, he would have said that the man was uncomfortable.            

“Xanatos…” Goliath said, folding his arms, his voice lowering in warning.           

Xanatos sighed. “Yes. I do.”           

“How dare-“Goliath began to roar, only to be cut off by Xanatos.           

“It was when I was trying to find out more about Gargoyle. You and your Clan wouldn’t agree with me on anything, and I was already hoping to restore Coldstone, so I figured since I was looking for crumbled Gargoyle statues, I’d collect some samples for myself and try to figure out what makes a Gargoyle body tick.”           

“You…” Goliath snarled, baring his fangs and grabbing Xanatos by the collar. “What gives you the right to desecrate the bodies of my Clan-mates for your selfish curiosity?”

 "Spare me your righteous fury when we're out of danger, Goliath," Xanatos said, completely unphased by the angry Gargoyle holding his neck. “It’s far from the worst thing I’ve ever done.”           

Goliath growled, his grip on the billionaire tightening, but Edward placed his hand on his shoulder stopping him.           

“Where are the other remains, Xanatos?” Edward demanded, much to the surprise of the Gargoyles.           

“Why do you need to know?” Brooklyn asked.

 "Because finding the remains of the Clan-sister that Homunculus looks like is the key to our victory," Edward replied.           

Goliath dropped Xanatos, turning to tower over Edward. “What are you babbling about, Alchemist?” he said with a glare.           

Edward didn’t waver at the Gargoyle’s attempt to dominate him. “As I said, Homunculi are made when someone tries to bring a dead person back to life. Because of this, a Homunculus loses strength if they get close to remains of the person that the Alchemist tried to resurrect.”           

“What?” Goliath growled.

 "They might not be the person that was supposed to be reanimated," Alphonse said, putting his hand on his brother's shoulder. "But at the very least, they do have memories of what was like to be that person. Memories of what it was like to feel…" The younger siblings face fell, and he looked down at the ground, his voice becoming grim. "Memories of happy times, when they actually had souls to love with. Whenever they come in proximity to the corpse of the person they were meant to replace, all those memories come flooding back. They're reminded of the person they once were, and that they can never be again. Everything that they want is right in front of them, but they can never have it. Being faced with those memories… it unravels them. It tears them apart inside. Makes them feel so awful that it physically hurts to move. You don't even need the whole corpse. All it takes is a little bone or a single strand of hair from the original… and the Homunculus will stop in its tracks."             

The Gargoyles were stunned at the boy’s words. “That’s… awful.” Angela whispered. “I know they’re dangerous, but possessing a weakness that causes so much torment… To be undone by the very thing that they were meant to become…”           

"She's an imposter, Angela," Edward said. "She doesn't have feelings. Being faced with the real thing will remind her of that and weaken her enough so we can kill her."           

 To the Alchemist’s surprise, Goliath snarled at him “You’d defile the remains of my Clan-sister to use as a weapon? What  _ails_ you, boy?”           

Edward hissed in frustration. “Goliath, we don’t have a choice! The Homunculus is too strong for us otherwise!”           

“I would rather die with my honor against that monster than desecrate the body of a fallen Clan-mate!” Goliath roared.           

 “Goliath…” Edward began to retort, but just then, something burst from the floor at the end of the hall. The Alchemist turned his head, and there was the Homunculus.

 "There you are…" she purred, grinning at them with a grin that was dripping with malice.            

 Xanatos started tapping buttons on his watch, but before he could finish his command, the Homunculus’ hand moved so fast that Edward almost did see it. A sharp piece of metal flew from her hand and embedded itself in Xanatos’s watch, making the man cry out.           

The Homunculus's grin grew more deranged, and without warning, she charged. 

Something big and purple ran past Edward, and the next thing he knew, Goliath had grabbed the Homunculus's hands with his own and was attempting to push her back. To her surprise, the Homunculus was forced back a few feet, but she quickly regained her footing and halted Goliath's advance by digging her clawed feet into the ground.            

“Well, good to see you haven’t lost any of your strength, o’ fearless leader…” the Homunculus said sardonically. “A pity you couldn’t use that strength to save our Clan!”           

“You have no right to speak our Clan, imposter!” Goliath roared, his massive muscles rippling as he shoved the creature with all his might.           

“I have every right!” The Homunculus retorted as she pushed back. “It’s because of you that we all were smashed into pieces! And now our Clan is gone, with nothing but the weakest of us all carrying on our legacy! Well, I’ve been given a second chance! I only lack one thing, Goliath, and I’ll take it from you!”           

Suddenly, the Homunculus kicked Goliath in the stomach, knocking him back to the others. The Gargoyle leader managed to regain his balance and land on his feet before he landed, though he was holding his stomach in pain. “What could we possibly give you that you’d attack us so?”           

The smile on the Homunculus's face fell. "I'm sure your Alchemist friend has already told you. My kind is produced when someone, whether out of love or selfish curiosity, attempts to bring someone who passed on back to the world of the living. We have minds and bodies, but we don't have souls."           

At this, the Homunculus's gaze turned to her hands, almost as if they disgusted her. "I'm incomplete… but…" The Homunculus's hands flew to her sides as she sank down into a fighting stance. "If I can kill all of you, my master will transform me into a real Gargoyle again! I'll finally be free from this miserable half-existence!"            

“We won’t be killed over something like that!” Hudson shouted. “You may look like her, no matter what you do, you’ll never take the place of my rookery daughter!”           

“My, as stubborn as you were a thousand years ago, old man!” the Homunculus chuckled. “Perhaps it’s no wonder Goliath turned out such a failure!”

Hudson growled, stepping forward to attack, but Brooklyn put his arm in front of the old soldier to stop him.           

 “Well…” The Homunculus put her finger on her chin, contemplating. “Perhaps, not all of you have to die for me to be complete…”           

“What do you mean?” Goliath growled.           

The Homunculus’s eyes shifted to Angela. “I see a new young Gargoyle female among you…” she said, her voice ominously low. “Perhaps, if my master can’t  _make_ a proper body and soul… I can have hers!”

 At that, Goliath roared so loud that Edward didn't doubt for a second it could be heard through the entire building. The lavender Gargoyle leaped, sweeping his claws at the Homunculus's head chest. The Homunculus didn't get out of the way, and it looked like the Gargoyle leader was going to decapitate her…           

But before the claws could slice into her, the Homunculus's body suddenly changed. Her flesh shifted against itself, like sand being blown across dirt, and Goliath's hand went right through the Homunculus's body. For a split second, Edward saw that the top half of where Goliath tried to shred was floating like a ghost and that the bits of flesh that made up the Homunculus's body were now made of dust particles. Before Goliath could shift his weight out of his failed swing, the Homunculus became flesh and blood once again, and she punched Goliath right in the jaw, knocking him into the ground.           

“I have a name now too, Goliath.” The Homunculus declared as she loomed over the fallen Gargoyle with bared claws. “My master gave it to me when I completed my physical form. It’s Hyppolyta.” Hyppolyta reared her claw back as she finished, “Remember it well when I send you to the Gate!”           

The Homunculus swung her claws, but just before they could pierce Goliath, Hyppolyta was knocked away by a powerful laser blast from Fox. At the same time, Hudson snarled, barreling past Brooklyn and charging at the Homunculus with his sword. Before Hyppolyta could recover, Hudson sliced her head clean off and then proceeded to chop her to pieces a with a flurry of slices.

 Edward knew he couldn’t let this opportunity pass. He made a mad dash to the Homunculus, clapping his hands as he ran, and seized one of the chunks of flesh that Hudson cut off. He pressed his other hand to the ground, turning it to sand and then transmuting that sand into a glass bottle. Before Hudson or Goliath could even notice he was there, he jumped back, putting the Homunculus's flesh into the container.

“Al!” Edward yelled as he threw the bottle at Alphonse. “Take Xanatos and find that corpse!”           

“Are you nuts Ed?” Alphonse shouted, catching the bottle without even looking. “She’s too strong! You can’t beat her!” As the blue Alchemist spoke, Hyppolyta’s sliced body flashed crimson, and her flesh tried to stitch back together and grow again. Hudson kept slashing, trying to keep the Homunculus down, but it was only a matter of time before she completely healed.            

“Don’t have to beat her!” Edward said. “We just need to hold her off until you guys come back!”

 "He's right, kid," Xanatos said. “Goliath is the greatest warrior on the planet, and the other Gargoyles aren’t slouches either. They won’t go down easily.”           

“But…” Alphonse insisted.           

“No buts!” Brooklyn cut off, standing at Edward’s side, though he was still holding his wounded side. “Lexington, Broadway, Angela! Go with them! There might still be other Quarrymen out there!”            

“But you’re still hurt, Brook!” Lexington yelled. “You can’t take her on!”           

 “And you’d could better?” Brooklyn countered.           

 Lexington opened his mouth to retort, but Homunculus finally manage to recover to a point where she could punch Hudson in the face. She tried to turn to charge at the group, only to be tackled to the ground by Goliath.           

“It’s now or never guys!” Brooklyn insisted. “Go!”           

“No!” Goliath screamed as he struggled to pin the Homunculus down. “I will not allow you to defile her corpse…”           

At that, Edward growled in irritation. “Goliath!” he screamed. “What’s more important? Your sister whose  _dead_ , or your children who are  _alive_?”

 Goliath's eyes widened, and in his hesitation, Hyppolyta elbowed him in the face. Fortunately, he managed to hang onto the Homunculus. The purple Gargoyle looked at Edward, and the Alchemist could see the pain in his eyes as he took a deep breath and said. "Very well… do what you must, Alchemist!"

 Edward nodded. "Thanks, Goliath!" He looked back at Alphonse. "You heard him! Get going!"           

Xanatos grabbed Alphonse by the hand. “Come on, boy!” he said as he started running down the hall. “Fox, Owen! With me!”           

The two followed without a word. Lexington, Broadway, and Angela hesitated, looking at Goliath and Brooklyn doubtfully.           

Brooklyn’s eyes burned white. “GO!” he roared, startling his rookery-siblings into following Alphonse. The Homunculus growled, digging her feet into the ground and knocking Goliath off her, but the other group had already turned the corner of the hall, leaving only Edward, Goliath, Brooklyn, Hudson, and Elisa to face Hyppoltya.           

“Elisa…” Edward said. “You’re staying?”           

 “Of course,” the detective replied, cocking her gun. “I’m not about to let Goliath face this thing alone.”           

“Oh….” Hyppoltya cooed patronizingly. “How sweet. You seem to have more honor than the humans back in Wyvern…” The false Gargoyle grinned at them, unfurling her claws by the side of her face. “Now you can all die together.”           

The Gargoyles jumped back away from her, crouching low and growling at the brown-skinned Homunculus. Elisa pointed her gun at her, preparing to fire when the time was right. Edward clapped his hands and constructed a spear from the stone of the wall. Once it was formed, he spun it in his hands and pointed it at his enemy.           

“Bring it.” The Alchemist said.

….

 Alphonse couldn't recall the last time he had run this fast as he currently was, but to him, it wasn't enough. Every minute that he wasted just getting to where he needed to go was a minute that Edward or one of the Gargoyles could lose their lives to the Homunculus. They had to find the first Hyppoltya’s corpse and fast!           

Alphonse was running right behind Xanatos and Fox, with the Gargoyles and Owen right behind him and Alexander in Fox’s arms. They were heading for the tallest tower in the castle.           

 Alphonse looked to where the tower was. “Is that where you keep the corpse?”           

“Yeah!” Xanatos replied over his shoulder. "It's my lab. I keep all my Gargoyle related projects there."           

“Of course,” Lexington muttered as he caught up to Alphonse, running on all four limbs like the rest of the Gargoyles.           

When they got to the tower, Xanatos kicked the door down, and they all ran up a winding set of stairs. The billionaire dashed up the steps like it was nothing, leaving Alphonse and the others in the dust. By the time the rest of the group was only halfway up the stairs, Xanatos had forced open the trapdoor and went through.           

Alphonse climbed past the door, wheezing from the effort of running up the stairs, and looked around his new surroundings. The room was a dark, made from grey stone like the rest of the castle. There were strange machines that flashed with strange lights on the walls, and two tables in the middle of the room. Shelves with tools, boxes, and various other things that he couldn't quite make out were lined throughout the wall. But the thing that really got Alphonse's attention was the robot mechanical Gargoyle on the opposite end of the room. It was a rough metallic copy of Goliath, only the body was painted red, and it seemed to be equipped with lasers and other attachments. Come to think of it… the other robots were in the shape of Goliath as well… If Goliath wasn't so casual with the billionaire and he wasn't married, Alphonse would have said that Xanatos had an obsession.           

Speaking of whom, Alphonse saw Xanatos struggling to carry a box to one of the tables. Alphonse ran to Xanatos and grabbed the other end of the box just as billionaire was about to drop the box.

"Help me take this box over to that table with the tools at the edge," Xanatos ordered. Alphonse obeyed, carrying the box to the edge and pouring the contents all over the table. Alphonse threw the box to the side, and his heart nearly leaped to his throat as he saw what was inside.

The box had been holding entire limbs and body parts made of stone. Arms that were broken from the elbow down… Hands that were missing fingers… Shatters heads that were missing half their faces… Did the other members of the Manhattan Clan have come back to the castle to see this? The entire castle ground littered with the broken pieces of their Clan-mates, all because of the humans that they swore to protect betraying them?            

How in the world did the Gargoyles ever trust humans again…?           

“Holy hell!” a deep voice behind gasped. Alphonse looked behind him to see Broadway running up the stairs, folding over himself and putting his hands on his knees as he gasped for air. “Stairs and I… do not go together…”           

Lexington, Angela, Fox, and Owen quickly followed, running to the table to look over the parts that Xanatos had poured over the counter.

 When Lexington saw the body parts of his shattered Clan on the table, he gasped in shock and took a step back, his eyes watering with a faraway look. He looked at Xanatos, and his eyes narrowed into a glare. “How could you…?” he growled. “Was trying to get us as pets not enough for you?”           

“Save it, Lexington.” Xanatos retorted. “If what Edward told us was true, you should be grateful for my scavenger tendencies.”           

Broadway walked over to the table, looking down at the stone limbs with a haunted expression. “How… how are we gonna find the right one?”           

“With this” Alphonse replied, pulling out the bottle containing the Homunculus’s flesh that his brother managed to steal. “A Homunculus’s body is chemically identical to the original person. If we can match the molecular make-up of this sample with one of the stone pieces here, we can find her remains.” Alphonse sighed. “It’s going to take some time though. And I need specific pieces of equipment to test it. I can probably transmute the tools from some of the material I have on hand but…”           

Before he could finish, Xanatos grabbed the bottle and dumped the flesh sample on a machine by the end of the table. There was a whirring sound, and a green light flashed over the piece. Xanatos typed some commands on his computer, and some data that Alphonse couldn't understand was displayed on the monitor.           

"Not to worry, kid," Xanatos said. “This computer will scan the DNA signature of the pieces and see if it’s a match. If we hurry, we can get this done in a matter of…”           

Before Xanatos finished, something slammed in the wall from outside with a deafening boom. There was an explosion, and Angela and Owen had been standing so close to the wall that they were blown back as bits of the wall were sent flying.           

“Angela!” Alphonse screamed, running over to the young woman as she struggled to get up. “Are you…?”           

“I’m fine, Alphonse” Angela replied gently, managing to smile through her pain, “Thank you…”           

Lexington ran to the hole in the wall, and his face twisting to into a snarl. “It’s the Pack!”           

Alphonse ran to Lexington’s side, and sure enough, Wolf, Jackal, and Hyena were standing around a fountain in the lower castle grounds. Hyena was holding a missile launcher that was still steaming at the barrel, and she currently trying to load another shot.           

“Can someone deal with that?” Xanatos demanded. “I don’t think I can match DNA while getting blown up!”

 "Lexington?" Alphonse said, looking at the little khaki Gargoyle next to him.           

The Gargoyle nodded. “Grab on.”

….

 Edward cried out as he slammed into the wall, dropping his spear as his back slid down the stone. He groaned, hearing gunshots from Elisa as he forced himself up and opened his eyes.           

Hyppolyta growled as Elisa emptied her clip into her. “You are really irritating with that thing!” With that, the Homunculus’s body transmuted into dust, and two bullets passed right through her.           

Elisa grunted, pressing her trigger a few more times, but she clicked empty. “Damn it!” the detective screamed as she jumped back to avoid a claw from the Homunculus.           

Edward gave a battle cry as he dashed forward and swept with his spear, but Hyppolyta turned to dust, and before the blow completely phased through, she suddenly solidified into stone.            

“What?” Edward cried in confusion, trying to pull the spear out from the living statue, but it wouldn’t budge. To Edward’s horror, the Homunculus was still moving in statue form and he just barely jumped back in time to avoid getting his stomach slashed open.           

“Not so tough now, are you Alchemist?” Hyppolyta sneered, continuing to swipe at Edward.           

In response, Edward clapped in his hands and grabbed Hyppolyta’s wrist as she was about to strike. Blue sparks crackled, and her stone arm shattered into pieces. Hyppolyta tried to jump back, but Goliath was right behind her, and he punched her with all his might, and her stone head was knocked  clean off.

 "Get back, Goliath!" Edward called, clapping his hands. Goliath leaped back as Edward pressed his hands into Hyppolyta and transmuted her, turning her body into dust and making her crumble on the floor pile in a grainy collection of grey particles.            

“That won’t keep her down for long!” Edward said to his allies. “Let’s bail and regroup for now!”           

The Gargoyles nodded and together with Edward and Elisa, they ran down the hall and turned over a corner. Edward looked behind him to see a crackle of crimson sparks, and utterly demonic scream of "Come and face me, you cowards!"           

“I don’t think that hat trick made her very happy!” Elisa said.           

 “Well tough!” Edward retorted “I’ve got plenty where that came from!”           

“So why are we fleeing then?” Hudson demanded.           

“If we keep fighting her head on, she’ll flatten us!” Edward said. “We gotta fight smart! So, let’s find a safe place and come up with strategies to fight her! I’ll make weapons for you all too!”

"In here!" Brooklyn said, suddenly veering to the left and kicking open the doors. It was a kitchen, with three long counters attached to the floor, the middle of which had stoves on the top, and various utensils hanging from the wall. As everyone ran in, Brooklyn slammed the door behind him and blocked the entrance by putting a broom handle through the handles.            

“You know that’s not gonna hold her!” Edward pointed out as he ran behind a counter and frantically searched for ingredients from the cabinets.           

“I know!” Brooklyn growled. “Are you gonna be useful or just sit there and bitch?”           

Edward threw a bunch of pots and pans into a pile and ran to the wall to get more. “Get me some sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter! If there are any bottles of alcohol, matches, or lighters, bring those too!” With that, he clapped his hands and engulfed the pile of metal utensils with the light of transmutation. The pots melted into a large mass of energy and then that mass turned into four sizable pistols and twelve ten-shot ammo clips.           

As Edward made the transmutations, there was a scramble behind him as the Clan tried to get the ingredients he asked for. “Aha!” Hudson called. “Found the charcoal!”           

“Got the sulfur!” Brooklyn said.           

“Here’s the saltpeter!” Elisa shouted.           

The three of them rushed to Edward and placed their respective ingredients right in front of Edward.           

“Great!” Edward said, opening each container and dumping them all into a pile.           

“What are you doing, lad?” Hudson asked curiously.           

"Elisa said she needed ammo," Edward replied with a clap. There was a flash of blue light, and the pile of gunpowder ingredients turned into freshly made bullets, around two hundred in total.            

Elisa whistled in admiration. “Gotta say, Alchemy sure is useful.”           

Edward couldn’t stop a grin from forming on his face.  “Load those bullets into the guns.” He said taking a good portion of the bullets for himself and transmuting them into a string of bullets. “I’m gonna see if I can find some stuff for explosives.”           

 “Wait, don’t you need a gun?” Elisa asked.           

In answer of her question, Edward held out his mechanical right arm and opened the plate on his forearm. He grabbed the magazine string, attached them to a mechanism inside his mechanical limb, and rolled them around in a cylinder before closing his automail shut.           

“Oh…” Elisa said, staring at Edward’s arm. “I’m not sure how I forgot about that…”

 "Yeah, sometimes I forget too…" Edward replied wistfully. He sprinted to the other end of the counter, opening the cabinet to see bottles of whiskey and wine. "Perfect…" he muttered with a grin as he took them out.            

“Molotov cocktails?” Elisa asked.           

Edward nodded. “Can you make them while I gear up?”           

"Of course," Elisa said, grabbing some rags and tearing them into strips.           

“Why is your arm and leg like that anyway?” Brooklyn asked. “It’s only those two limbs, and they leave you unbalanced.”           

“Alchemy accident.” Edward quickly said. “It’s just what happens when someone tries to defy the law of Equivalent Exchange.”           

Brooklyn grimaced. “So you couldn’t pay the price you needed, and you lost your limbs?”           

“Yeah” Edward replied, as he found more ingredients for gun power and started transmuting. “You should have seen Al back then. He got off a lot worse than I did. It took me years to find a way to put him back to normal.”           

“What exactly were you hoping to accomplish?” Goliath asked as he stood guard by the door. “You don’t strike me as a fool, or someone who’d risk his life for mere curiosity.”           

Edward didn’t answer, slapping his hands together to make five canisters of explosives.           

“Elric?” Goliath asked.           

“Does it have to with a Homunculus?” Elisa cut in.           

Edward stopped in his tracks, looking at the detective in surprise. “How…?”           

"You knew what that Homunculus was just by looking," Elisa explained. "You know all its strengths and weaknesses. You said you fought some before, and that they are created when someone uses Alchemy to resurrect the dead. And  _then_ you told us that you lost your limbs as you tried to break the law of Equivalent Exchange. What would break that law more and explain why you know everything you do than you trying to create a lifeform from scratch?”           

Edward’s voice caught in his throat. He gripped his automail, looking down on the ground in shame. Then, the Alchemist gave a rueful chuckle. “I guess you really are a detective…”           

 “So you  _did_ create one of those abominations?” Goliath asked, his voice sharp and accusing.           

“Yeah…” Edward nodded. “I broke the taboo. I thought that Al and I were enough to pull off what no one had before. I thought we could bring the dead back to life. We learned Alchemy just so we could do that one thing. But we failed, and for my hubris, I lost my arm and leg, and instead of bringing her back, I made one of those things…”

 "Her?" Elisa wondered before her face fell. "Wait… you said you lost family before… did you mean…?           

“She was kind…” Edward said, turning away from the Gargoyles so they couldn’t see his face. “She really was a kind mother… We just wanted to see her smile, just one more time…”           

Edward felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see that Elisa was looking at him with a gentle smile. There wasn’t any judgment or anger in her dark eyes, only a sad understanding.           

“I get that you weren’t supposed to do it…” she said. “But I understand why you tried. I can’t fault really fault you for doing it.”

 "It's not just that, Maza," Edward said. "When I found out that what we made was a Homunculus… I…"           

 Suddenly, the Gargoyles’ ears perked up. “She’s coming!” Goliath shouted.           

Edward clapped his hands and transmuted his metal arm into a machine gun. “Grab the guns! Elisa, on my cue, switch all the gas on the burners on, but don’t light them! Fill the room with as much gas as you can!”

 The four of them seized the firearms on the ground and together with Edward, aimed at the door. The door broke upon with loud crack, and Hyppolyta roared as she charged in. Before she could reach any of them, the room was filled with the banging of gunshots as Edward and his friends opened fire on the Homunculus, knocking her back and pulverizing her body so thoroughly that chunks of flesh and blood were sent flying everywhere.

 Elisa and the Gargoyles ran out of bullets after ten shots, so they ran off in the direction of the other set of doors, leaving Edward to keep shooting with his machine gun arm. "Elisa," he shouted. "Gas!" 

As Elisa dashed and reloaded, she started turning knobs on the stoves, releasing gas but not activating the burners. Then, she opened fire with the rest of the Gargoyles as Edward ran to catch up them.

When they clicked empty again, Hyppolyta’s pulverized remains flashed red as she started to regenerate. “You…” she gurgled as her face was stitched back together. “It doesn’t matter how many times you kill me! I’ll keep coming back to life until your lives end at my hands!”

They started shooting again, but Hyppolyta turned herself into dust, and the bullets phased right through. "You can't hurt me when I'm like this!" she bragged. 

“Really now?” Edward retorted, pulling out a canister and pulling the pin as they ran out the door. “What about this?” he shouted, throwing the canister on the stove top and slamming the door behind him.

"Get down!" Elisa screamed as they dashed as fast they possibly could away from the kitchen before there was an explosion that blasted the doors and the entire kitchen wall was blasted apart in a fiery inferno. The blast was so big that it even knocked a hole in the wall facing the kitchen.

“Xanatos is not gonna be happy about that…” Brooklyn muttered.

“Fuck ‘em!” Edward replied, pulling out another canister.

“What are you doing, lad?” Hudson asked. “She’s already…”

Before the old Gargoyle could finish, there was a crackling of what sounded like electricity. As the Gargoyle watch, a skeletal hand emerged from the flames, pulling itself forward to reveal a skull. As the skeleton pulled itself ahead, it shrouded itself with red lightning. Muscle started to grow on the frame, fiber by fiber, ligament by ligament, as well as the organs like the lungs, heart, and liver. The skull glared at them as its violet eyes grew back and it pulled itself out of the flames entirely.

“Well…” The Homunculus said as its skin and clothes grew back. “I never had to reconstruct my entire body from scratch before. Thank you for such an interesting experience…”

“Damn it…” Brooklyn growled. “What does it take to kill this thing?”

Hyppolyta gave an unhinged grin. “It’s like I said, it doesn’t matter what you do to me! I’ll keep coming back to life no matter what!”

“We’ll see about that!” Edward shouted as he unclipped the canister he was holding and threw it at the Homunculus’s feet. “Run!” he ordered the Gargoyles as the canister exploded.

…

"Stop!" Alphonse screamed as he swung off Lexington and ax-kicked at Hyena, making her stop loading the RPG and leap back to avoid him.

"You're getting really annoying, kid!" Hyena hissed as she and her brother charged at Alphonse. In response, Alphonse clapped his hands and made the floor of the castle ripple like a wave, knocking the twins off their feet.

“Damn sorcerer!” Wolf roared, only for Broadway to slam him down with his fat belly. Meanwhile, Lexington and Angela flew at Hyena and Jackal and pinned them down to the ground.

Lexington snarled at Jackal. “I should gut you right now, you worthless snake!”

To Alphonse surprise, Jackal smirked at the Gargoyle. “It’s not me you should be worried about.”

Alphonse followed the cyborg’s gaze and gasped when he saw a few mercenaries on a tower aiming a rocket launcher at them.

"Get down!" Alphonse screamed clapping to transmute a wall between mercenaries and the fountain they were near. The barrier formed with barely enough time to spare as the rocket exploded with enough force to knock everyone back.

Alphonse hit his back as he fell, knocking the wind out of him.

“Angela!” Lexington said. “Broadway! Take care of them!”

“You can’t take them on your own!” Broadway said.

Alphonse groaned, shaking his head as he jumped to his feet. “He won’t be alone!” Alphonse said, glaring at the Pack as they got on their feet as well. “I’ll fight them too. You guys go!”

“Thank you, Alphonse!” Angela said, and together with Broadway, she flew to engage the snipers.

Lexington growled as Alphonse ran up beside him and got into a fighting stance. All three Pack members smirked as they stepped forward to face them. “Well…” Wolf gloated. “It seems the runts of the litter think they can take the Alphas.”

"Don't be so cocky!" Lexington retorted. "I've beaten you before, and I'll beat you again!"

Alphonse nodded. “It’s like my brother always said. Big things come in small packages.”

The trio charged, Wolf running at Alphonse and rearing back a claw for swipe, and Hyena and Jackal at Lexington. The tiny Gargoyle roared, ramming into the twins and knocking them back.

As for Alphonse, he backflipped, gracefully evading the wolf chimera’s strikes with ease. Wolf growled in frustration as made swing after swing, but to no avail.

“Damn it!” Wolf shouted as Alphonse stopped himself right on the edge of the fountain. “Why are you butting in with this fight, kid? It has nothing to do with you!”

Alphonse clapped his hands as he responded. “Do I need a reason? You’re trying to kill innocent people!” Alphonse pressed his hand to the ground, transmuting it into a fist that tried to punch Wolf in the gut.

Wolf dodged to the side with a laugh. “People? What, you think of these  _monsters_  as  _people_?” Wolf broke off a few pieces of stone from the wall and threw them at Alphonse.

Alphonse grunted as he rolled out of the way. “It’s true that their bodies aren't human, but they’re still people! They love each other, and just want to help those they can’t help themselves!”

“They’re animals kid!” Wolf insisted, running forward to claw at Alphonse. “They’re big, stupid animals! LOOK AT THEM!”

“What about you and your friends?” Alphonse screamed in indignation. “The twins have half their bodies replaced by machines, and you have the DNA of a wolf spliced in you!”

“That’s different!” Wolf retorted. “We made ourselves like this so we could stand a chance against these monsters! And we’re still human when it comes down to it!”

“But the Gargoyles aren’t that different from you!” Alphonse shouted. “They have emotions, wants, needs just like you! They have souls!”

To Alphonse’s surprise, Wolf laughed at him. “Souls? You’re gonna try to prove they’re people with that garbage?”

Alphonse blinked at him. “You… don’t believe in souls?”

Wolf smirked at him. “Oh, I do. I talked to my ancestor’s ghost. But that doesn’t mean those Gargoyles have them!”

“They’re sentient!” Alphonse insisted. “They can talk and think like us humans! The fact that they can even ask to be treated like an equal makes that self-evident!”

“You’re just a kid!” Wolf said dismissively. “What makes you think you know shit?”

“I’m a State Alchemist hired by my country’s military!” Alphonse shouted. “I’ve studied the nature of the soul and seen things that’d send you running!”

“How like a child to make things up…” a low voice behind him said.

Alphonse's heart leaped to his throat. He jumped to the side, but suddenly, his entire backside was ablaze in agony as three golden claws racked themselves against his flesh.

“Gah!" Alphonse screamed as he rolled into the wall of the castle. He tried to get up, but his back flared protest, and he cried out in pain.

“Alphonse!” he heard Lexington scream. There was a patter of footsteps, and he saw Lexington leap in front of him, growling at the Pack with glowing white eyes. "Don't you  _dare_ touch him!”

“Awh, how cute!” Hyena cackled as the Pack loomed over them. “You think you can fight all three of us!”

Alphonse groaned, clapping his hands. “I… told you…” the boy bit out. “He’s not… alone!”

Alphonse pressed his hand to the ground, reaching his mind out deep within the castle to gather as much material from the castle fountain and the floor as he could. The entire floor near the fountain lit up with a blue-white light, and the Pack scattered in fear. "What the hell?" Hyena screeched, as the floor and the fountain reshaped itself, making a massive hole in the castle and taking on the form of a six-foot-tall suit of armor. It was very detailed, but Alphonse knew the design so intimately that he could transmute it with ease.

The helmet was adorned with a large, conical horn in the middle of the forehead, had a pair of parallel, horizontal vents beneath each half-moon eye hole and a fang motif just above the protruding chin. The top of the helmet was adorned with a ribbon of white hair that hung down to the small of the suit's back. The trunk of the body also consisted of a removable breastplate with a protruding, triangular shelf on the chest just below the throat guard and a high collar that extended out of the back and surrounded the rear and sides of the neck. A trio of spikes was built into the armor's shoulders, elbow, knees, and feet. To complete the look, Alphonse sacrificed the cloth of his blue jacket and the leather of his loafers to make a loincloth that covered the armor's groin and a large, circular leather patch on either side of the abdomen.

“Al?” Lexington gasped. “What are you…?”

"Protect my body, Lex!" Alphonse said as bit through the pain and forced himself up. Before the Gargoyle could reply, Alphonse ran to the armor, clapping his hands, and pressing them into the armor's helmet. There was a brief spark of transmutation, and without warning, Alphonse's body crumbled to the ground.

"Alphonse!" Lexington screamed, running to the fallen boy. He cradled the boy gently, putting his hands on his chest to feel a faint heartbeat. He was alive, but he wasn't conscious. "Al?" Lexington cried, shaking the boy. "Al! Open your eyes, please!"

“Wow” Jackal chuckled, smirking with his friends as they surrounded Lexington like dogs preparing to gang up on their prey. “All that flash and swagger just for a useless suit of armor…”

“So much for not leaving you alone!” Hyena sneered.

Lexington growled, trying to intimidate them, but to no avail.

Wolf smirked, flourishing his claws. “Let’s hope the rest won’t be as disappointing as you, runt.” With that, Wolf rushed, swiping his claw directly at Alphonse’s body.           

Out of the corner of Lexington’s eye, something moved. There was a crash, and Wolf cried out in pain.           

Lexington looked up, and to his shock, the suit of armor that Alphonse made had moved. Judging from its position and how the chimera was rubbing his cheek, it had just punched Wolf in the face.           

“The fuck?” Hyena shrieked as she and her brother charged, only for the armor to dash forward and grab them by the wrist.           

“I told you…” the armor spoke, and to Lexington’s shock, it was in Alphonse’s voice. “He’s not alone!” The armor threw the twins away, sending them flying to the wall of the castle screaming.           

Lexington gasped in disbelief. “Al…?” he said. “Is… that you?”           

The armor turned to look at Lexington, and the Gargoyle saw that the holes in helmet were now shining with a pinkish-red light. Then, the armor gave a thumbs-up. "Yeah," it said. "It's me.           

Lexington dropped the body he was cradling, unable to repress his shock. “What… what sorcery is this?”

"It's not sorcery," Alphonse said as Wolf charged at the armored boy with a roar. Before Lexington could react, Alphonse turned around and uppercut Wolf so hard that his armored body rang, and blood spewed from the mercenary's mouth.            

“It’s science.” Alphonse finished, as Wolf slammed into the ground without another word.           

Hyena and Jackal screamed, dashing forward to attack, but Alphonse and Lexington were ready for them. Alphonse swept Hyena’s legs out from under her, grabbed her head as she fell, and slammed her face into the ground so hard the floor cracked.

Lexington punched Jackal in the stomach and followed up by hitting the cyborg with a wild flurry of punches to the head, screaming with hatred the entire time. Then, he stopped, leaving Jackal swaying in place, before kicking him in the face, knocking him out cold.

Lexington heaved as he looked around, seeing that all the Pack had been knocked out. “We won…” he breathed out.

"Yeah," Alphonse said with a clap of his hands, transmuting chains from the wall of the castle. "This time, I'll make sure they can't get away."

“Lexington!” a voice called from above. The tiny Gargoyle looked up to see Broadway and Angela flying down to them.

“We stopped them!” Angela said. “How are…?” Her eyes widened in horror at the bleeding boy on the ground. “Oh my god! Alphonse!”

The living armor looked up at them as he tied up Hyena. “I’m fine.” He said.

Broadway and Angela stared at the armor with wide eyes. “Alphonse?” Broadway shouted in horror and confusion. “What…?”

"Help me restrain the Pack," Alphonse said. "Lexington, please use the fabric of my jacket to stop my body from bleeding out. Otherwise, I might die."

Lexington blanched. “Of course.” He squeaked as he pulled off the boy’s jacket, tore it to strips, and wrapped them around the wounds on his back. Meanwhile, Angela and Broadway tied Wolf and Jackal up in chains. Alphonse walked over the restrained Pack members to check on the Gargoyle’s work.

"Good," Alphonse said. "They should be able to break free from this…"

“Al…” Lexington said, staring at the living armor with a mix of awe and fear. “What did you do? Are you going to be stuck like this?”

"Don't worry, Lexington," Alphonse replied gently. "It's an Alchemic process. It'll wear off after a little while."

“An… Alchemic process?” Lexington asked.

"Alchemy gives you access to wide variety of powers," Alphonse explained. "One of mine is to split my soul into pieces. After I do that, I can transfer those pieces into inanimate objects, turning them into golems that obey my commands."

Broadway looked like he swallowed a lemon. “You split your soul into  _pieces_?”

Alphonse shook his hands in apology. "Yes, but don't worry! It won't really hurt me in the long run! I just have to make sure my body is safe because the more I split my soul, the less quickly my body can move, and in cases like this where I want complete control over my golem, my body goes to sleep!"

“Still, that’s your  _soul_!” Angela cried. “Doesn’t it harm you to break it apart like that?”

Alphonse shook his helmeted head. “No. In all honesty, I’m probably the only one who can make golems. My soul… it’s a bit more loosely put together than most…”

“HEYYYY!!!!” a voice boomed from above. Alphonse and the Gargoyles looked up to see Xanatos shouting through a megaphone.  “I FOUND THE RIGHT BODY PART! COME UP AND GET IT!!!”

“Great!” Alphonse cried in mirth, clapping his metallic hands together. “Come on! We have to get that piece to Edward and Goliath right away!”

….

Things were getting worse. The Homunculus was still sending them running, and Edward had used all his grenades and cocktails already. Goliath, Brooklyn, and Hudson had expended all their bullets already, and Edward and Elisa were down on their last few. The blood loss was starting to get Brooklyn, and he was leaning on Edward as they rested against the wall, his chest heaving as he struggled to get some equilibrium.

“Damn it…” he gasped. “If this keeps up, she’ll run us down.”

“She doesn’t tire one bit…” Hudson sputtered, holding his stomach, where the Homunculus had punched. “And no matter how we kill her, she comes back…”

"Are you certain there's a limit to how much she can regenerate?" Goliath whispered. The fear in the colossal Gargoyle’s voice sent shivers down Edward’s spine.

“Yeah…” Edward breathed. “Trust me. I’ve was able to kill Homunculi before. She’ll hit her limit eventually. It’s just a matter of hanging on until she does.”

“Is there nothing you can do to make that happen faster?” Elisa asked. “If she was made with Alchemy, can’t you unmake her?”

"Well…" Edward said as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. "In theory, yes. There's a transmutation I know that will make her regurgitate all the souls she's ingested, bringing her down to one life. But it's so complicated that I need to draw the transmutation circle. Then I'll have to lead her onto it. Do you really think she'll just sit still and let me do all that?"

"Well, we gotta do something…" Brooklyn heaved. "She's killing us…"

“That’s the plan!” a familiar voice chuckled.

“Damn it!” Edward screamed as the Homunculus turned the corner and rushed at them with a horrifying smile. Elisa shot at her, but Hyppolyta turned into dust, evading the attack.

“Leave us alone!” Edward roared, clapping his hands. The light of transmutation flashed on the roof, and it collapsed on top of Hyppolyta, scattering her into a cloud.

“We’re never going to win like this!” Hudson shouted as they started running again. “We need to fight her in a more open space!”

“Ed…” Brooklyn groaned, his wounded side starting to bleed even more. “There’s an Atrium right underneath us… When she gets close again, smash the floor. I'll catch you, and we'll float down."

Edward nodded as the dust started to coalesce, shaping itself into a winged humanoid figure before solidifying into Hyppolyta. The Homunculus snarled at them, her eyes glowing violet as she glared. “You’re becoming a nuisance,  _boy_!”

Despite how desperate he was getting, Edward found it in him to smirk. “Don’t know what to tell you, lady. That’s just always how I’ve been. Especially when I’m talking to psychotic bitches who are full of themselves.”

Hyppolyta charged at him, screaming “Let’s see how sharp your tongue is when I rip it from your mouth!”

Edward clapped his hands and pressed them into the ground. "Get ready!" he shouted as the flash of blue light covered the ground beneath him and his allies. Just before Edward got his head swiped off, the brick broke beneath them, and he and his friends fell.

“Cowards!” Hyppolyta shrieked as Edward fell away. “Come back and face me!”

Edward felt two strong arms wrap around him as he replied. “You have two strong wings! Use them!”

Brooklyn snorted as he and Edward glided over their new battlefield. It was a room about the length and width of the entire building, surrounded by glass windows and divided into a balcony and a lower floor. The lower level was full of lush trees and flowers, with a pool of water planted right in the middle. The balcony lined the perimeter of the room, with a bridge connected both halves of the gallery. The right side of the balcony had an artificial waterfall and stream installed nearby, and to Edward's confusion, it didn't connect to the larger pool in the center. Who the hell designed this room? And what did they make it for?

Brooklyn grimaced as he flew to the nearby balcony and let Edward go. “We’ll buy you as much time as we can!” the red Gargoyle said. With that, Brooklyn jumped onto the railing of the balcony and flew at Hyppolyta with a wavering roar.

Edward gasped, looking around for the right spot for his transmutation. His eyes fell on the place in the middle of the bridge, and he sprinted.

Just as Edward got to the spot, Elisa jumped down next to him from Goliath. The detective gave a snarl of frustration as she watched the Gargoyles swing useless blows at Hyppolyta. "Whatever you're doing, do it fast!"

Edward fumbled in his pocket, trying to get what he needed. "Where is it…? Aha!" he cried as he pulled out a piece of chalk. With that, he drew a perfect circle around himself and begin working on the transmutation formula.

High above the two humans, the battle with the Homunculus raged. Hudson roared as he swung his sword, which passed harmlessly through Hyppolyta’s arenaceous body. Hudson barely had enough time to twist in the air so he could evade a retaliating strike. Before Hyppolyta could pursue him, Brooklyn flew in out of nowhere and blindsided her, kicking her into the balcony so hard she left an imprint in the shape of her own body. Goliath swooped down to follow up the surprise attack with a claw attack, but Hyppolyta growled, rolling away from Goliath and lunging at the Gargoyle leader. The lavender Gargoyle grabbed her hands, digging in with his feet in an attempt to grapple her.

“How much longer do intend to keep up this futile resistance?” Hyppolyta snarled.

“Until my Clan is safe from you!” Goliath roared back.

Hyppolyta growled, her body exploding into dust and coalescing behind Goliath. Hyppotlya tried to run him through with her claws, but somehow, Goliath's reflexes were fast enough that he jumped forward and dodged her. When Hyppolyta tried to lunge and pursue him, Goliath twisted mid-jump, swinging his tail and knocking her back down. Hyppolyta cried out, and before she could get up, Goliath sprung back at her as soon as his feet hit the ground and sliced off her head with one swing of his claws. Goliath roared as he kept clawing at her body, ripping off flesh and bone, splattering blood all over himself as he did everything he could to make sure the monster stayed down. Even as the crimson lightning crackled over her body, Goliath didn't stop, heaving as he struggled to keep attacking and halt the regeneration, screaming as the desperation mounted.

But all his effort amounted to nothing. A leg formed beneath him and kicked him through the railing, knocking him into the lower deck. Goliath screamed as he hit the floor hard, his arm making a sickening cracking sound as he landed.

The crimson lightning continued to crackle as the Homunculus reformed with a laugh. "A valiant effort, but you still don't have to strength to defeat me!" The Homunculus jumped down, sauntering over to Goliath like she had all the time in the world, only for Hudson's blade to come spinning from the sky and embed itself into her chest, knocking her down.

"Strength isn't everything!" Hudson shouted as he flew down and thrust his hand at the Homunculus's chest. Unfortunately for him, Hyppolyta hardened her flesh into stone, blocking the attack, and before Hudson could get out of the way, the Homunculus slapped him across the face with her rocky hand so hard that she drew blood.

“Hudson!” Goliath screamed in terror, but to the blood-soaked Gargoyle’s surprise, the Homunculus didn’t attack while the elder was down. Instead, she returned her flesh to normal, pulling the sword of her chest and breaking it over her knees with a ferocious snarl.

“‘Strength isn’t everything?’” Hyppolyta screamed. “Where was that attitude in the previous millennium? The only reason you made  _him_ the leader was that he was the strongest among us! I told you he would lead us to ruin and look where we are now! Our entire Clan is dead and shattered! We've been exposed to the entire world! Our kind is on the brink of extinction!"

“Lass, that’s not true!” Hudson groaned as he forced himself to his feet, blood trailing down his face. “None of that was Goliath’s fault!”

“Oh?” Hyppolyta raised an eyebrow. “Who was it that allowed the Archmage to remove your eye? Who was it that did nothing as the humans exploited our protection and mistreated us? Who was it that allowed Demona and the Captian of the Guard to do as they pleased while they carried out their reckless plan?”

Goliath’s widened. “Hyppoltya…” he whispered.

 "Who was it that left his Clan to die while he went off to pursue Vikings?!" Hyppoltya roared. "WHO WAS IT THAT THAT REVEALED US TO THE WORLD TO PURSUE SOME WORTHLESS VENGEANCE AGAINST THE HUNTERS?!"

“You know about them?” Hudson asked.

"I know everything!" Hyppolyta shouted. "I remember everything! I remember how you raised us with the rest of our Clan-brothers and sisters! I remember how Prince Malcolm who use as threats to install obedience and didn't listen when it made the humans afraid! You made excuse after excuse for him and refused to listen to me because I ‘just needed to be patient!' Well, I was patient like you said Old Soldier, and look what happened! Your alliance and faith in your precious Prince killed us all!"

Hudson roared, rushing at the Homunculus with his eyes shining wildly, but Hyppoltya burst into dust, reappeared behind the bearded Gargoyle, and delivered a chop to the back of his head, knocking him out in one blow.

"I suppose I shouldn't really blame for your weakness, Goliath." Hyppoltya continued, glaring at the lavender Gargoyle. "Considering who you had as a role model. You and the old man always kept spouting that same nonsense about hope. But all you ever did was sit and do nothing as the humans kept took us for granted! And you still haven't changed!"

“I…” Goliath’s words caught in his throat. “He’d heard these words before from the former love of his life. She’d been bitter about the human’s treatment as well, but he had held firm. It wasn’t the attitude itself that took him off guard.

It was that the person that Hyppoltya resembled had acted like this, had said similar things. Sure, she had never been this bitter, nor had she attacked him like this, but if she witnessed the fall of the Clan and had no one to help ease her grief, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume she’d lash out like this. While the details of her memories were obviously tainted with bias and animosity, there was a grain of truth to them. His Clan sister  _had_ opposed him becoming the leader, thinking he was too foolish and naïve for the position. She  _had_ hated Prince Malcolm for his scary stories about Gargoyles and how they made humans see the Clan. She  _had_ thought they were too optimistic. And try as he might… he couldn't find it in himself to say that Hyppoltya had been wrong about him leading them to ruin.

Edward said that she was just a doll. That she wasn’t his Clan-sister, but…

“Goliath!” Brooklyn screamed from above, snapping the Clan leader to reality just in time to avoid getting his head removed by Hyppoltya.

“The humans destroyed us!” Hyppoltya cried as she kept swinging at Goliath. “And yet here you are, still protecting them while the rest of your kind scrapes by in the shadows! You preach about how Gargoyles and humans must learn to live together, and yet you do nothing to ensure that would actually happen! You just keep letting all of us get walked all over!”

“What would you have me do?” Goliath roared as he jumped back, but when he landed, his leg throbbed in protest, and he crumpled.

“Fight back!” Hyppoltya retorted. “Let the humans know how much they need you and demand to that they treat you with respect!”

“That might have worked long ago, I’ll admit…” Goliath heaved, as he tried to get up and fight through the pain. “But times have changed! They didn’t even know we existed until last week, and we only have Manhattan as our sphere of influence! They hate us!”

“And whose fault is that?” Hyppoltya growled, flourishing her claws.

Something roared behind her. Goliath looked up to see Brooklyn swooping down and kick at Hyppoltya. In response, the Homunculus turned to dust, letting his clawed foot pass through her, and then trapped him by turning into stone. Brooklyn's eyes widened before the stone Homunculus grabbed him and slammed him into the ground.

"And you…" Hyppotlya's voice was tight with fury. "I always hated you the most…"

Brooklyn growled, holding his side as he got up, but the Homunculus didn't show him any quarter. She leaped forward, swinging her leg in a sweeping kick. When Brooklyn tried to block with his arm, there was a loud snap.

"Gah!" Brooklyn screamed, before Hyppotlya punching him in the stomach so hard he crashed into a tree. Brooklyn groaned, trying to push himself up with his right arm, but instead, he started coughing up blood.

“Brooklyn!” Goliath screamed, running forward, only to stumble on his broken leg and fall right into Hyppotlya’s fist.

"You and those other two rejects were always an embarrassment!" Hyppotlya said through grit teeth. "You always charged into battle with no plan and had to be rescued by either your rookery parents or me! You pulled childish pranks on both your family and the humans and made everything worse for everyone! You never tried to improve yourself and instead sought to imitate worthless human behavior! Why would you even need to ride a horse? You can FLY!"

Brooklyn’s eyes widened in shock. “You… remember that?”

Hyppotlya responded with a kick across the red Gargoyle’s face. “At least Goliath had his strength. You?” Hyppotlya kicked Brooklyn in the ribs and knocked him to the wall. “You contributed nothing! You were a weak Gargoyle with no skill in battle, no intellect, no magic, or even the character to make up for it all! You were worthless then, and you’re worthless now!” Hyppotlya growled and lift Brooklyn by the neck. “Why, out all the rookery children, did  _you_ survive?”

Goliath heard a sob in response as Brooklyn locked eyes with the Homunculus. Blood was flowing from the bruises all over his face, but his emerald eyes were still unimpeded, and tears were streaming down his beak.

“I’m sorry…” the young Gargoyle croaked. “I’m so sorry…. Just… stop… please…”

Hyppotyla snarled and punched Brooklyn in the face, knocking him to the ground. “Pathetic.” She spat, stomping on Brooklyn’s head and grinding his face into the ground. “No one would cry for you if I killed you here….”

“NOT ON YOUR LIFE!” a voice above Hyppotyla shrieked, before the Homunculus’s body peppered with bullets, knocking her away from Brooklyn.

Elisa Maza jumped down from the balcony, her gun still smoking as she kicked the again regenerating Homunculus away. "Edward!" she shouted. "Any day now!"

"It's ready!" the Alchemist shout back, clapping his hands and making the bridge he was standing on fall to the floor below. Drawn onto the broken bridge was a circle with a series of runes and shapes drawn into the inside. The most significant part of the ring was a cross with a snake wrapped around it. A Flamel.

“Get her inside the circle!” Edward shouted as he jumped off the circle and transmuted his automail into a blade.

 "And how do you propose we do that?" Elisa retorted as she tried to shoot at the Homunculus, only for her gun to click empty. "Damn it!" she growled as Hyppotyla grew her head back. But before the Homunculus could attack her, Edward clapped his hands and slammed his palms onto her back. Elisa and Goliath were temporarily blinded as the light of transmutation flooded the room. Edward leaped back as the light faded, and Elisa's confusion, the Homunculus didn't look hurt. It just seemed like she turned her body to dust. 

“And what was that supposed to do?” Hyppoltya scuffed.

“Elisa! Goliath!” Edward shouted, pulling out a lighter and activating the flame. “Hit the deck!”

Elisa jumped over Brooklyn, shielding the Gargoyle with her body as Edward threw the lighter at Hyppoltya. As soon as the flame made contact, the Homunculus exploded, blasting a hole in the floor and sending shards of rock and metal everywhere.

“What did you do?” Goliath called, coughing as the smoke and dust hit his lungs.

"I rearranged the stone and organic material in her body into gunpowder," Edward said, running to the Gargoyle's side and getting into a fighting stance. "Homunculi are more malleable than other living things, so I can do that…"

“Did you…” Goliath began but stopped when he saw the dust from the explosion swirl unnaturally. The dust cloud started to shine with crimson light, and bit by bit, the shaped itself into the shape of a Gargoyle.

“Of course,” Edward groaned as Hyppoltya reformed herself out of the dust cloud and landed on the floor in front of the new hole in the floor.

“Worthless…” Hyppoltya sneered as she approached Edward and Goliath menacingly. “Even with help Goliath, you can’t give me a proper fight. Do me and the rest of Gargoyle kind favor and die.”

“Get ready!” Edward ordered as the Homunculus charged.

Suddenly, there was the sound of glass shattering from above. Hyppoltya looked up, only to be ripped to pieces by a volley of lasers.

Edward turned his gaze upward and could only gape at what he saw. It was Mr. Xanatos, dressed in what looked like red steel armor with crimson Gargoyle-like artificial wings, a tail, and rocket thrusters at his boots that allowed him to fly. At his shoulders and both forearms, the armor broke away to reveal laser guns attached to them.

"You've overstayed your welcome," Xanatos said coolly as he unleashed another round of lasers from all his cannons, sending the Homunculus running to avoid them.

“Goliath!” another called from above. It was Broadway who was flying down along with Angela and Lexington to meet his leader, carrying what looked like a suit of armor between them.

"Broadway!" Goliath shouted as the rotund Gargoyle, and his Clan-mates landed, letting go of the armor. "Did you… what is this?" he said, referring to the armor.

To the Gargoyle's shock, the armor walked towards him on his own. "We found it, Goliath!"  it said, and its voice was strangely familiar.

Edward walked forward, not looking very surprised by the armor. "Al? Is that you?"

The armor nodded. “I had to put my soul in this armor because my body got too damaged to fight.”

“What?” Edward screamed, his eyes burning with fury. “Who hurt you?!”

“You bound your soul to a suit of armor?” Goliath gasped. “That’s…?”

“It doesn’t matter now!” Alphonse interrupted, pulling the straps that held the front of his armor in place. “We found what we needed! Look!” With that, Alphonse removed his breastplate and grabbed something inside. Goliath gasped, his pupils shrinking to the size of pinpricks as he saw the thing the armor boy carried.

It was a stone head, formed so perfectly that it couldn't have been sculpted by human hands. The statue head was humanoid, without a trace of hair on it, and had pointed ears and fangs protruding from the grey lips.

Its face was an exact match for Hyppoltya.

“That’s…” Goliath choked on his words. “That’s her head…”

“Yeah…” Alphonse said, his voice grim. “The DNA matched the sample Ed took perfectly. If this won’t work, nothing will.”

Before Goliath could get another word in, Edward grabbed the hand with both hands and ran to over to the Homunculus.

"Hey, Hyppoltya!" Edward shouted, making the false Gargoyle turn her attention from Xanatos and glare at the Alchemist. "Recognize  _this_?” With that, Edward stopped in his tracks and held the head out for all to see.

The moment that Hyppoltya’s eyes fell on the head, she froze. She gasped, her breathing suddenly becoming ragged, and her slit eyes widened, becoming almost human-like. She stepped back, her entire body trembling horribly. “What… what is…?”

“It’s a head.” Edward bluntly replied. “ _Her_ head. The head of the Gargoyle that you were supposed to become when you were made.” Edward took a step forward, and the Homunculus stepped back again.

“G-get that away from me…!” she cried, holding her arms out in front of her face as if to protect herself. “I don’t want to see it!”

“She’s cowering…” Xanatos commented as he landed near the Gargoyles, looking at the trembling Homunculus in surprise.

“She was so aggressive just a minute ago…” Elisa said. “Why isn’t she attacking?”

Goliath looked into Hyppoltya’s wavering eyes. “She’s in pain.” The lavender Gargoyle surmised.

"It's like I said," Alphonse answered, his somber voice echoing in his armor. "Seeing the remains of the one who was supposed to be resurrected brings painful memories upon the Homunculus. It's weakening her…"

At this time, Edward was backing the Homunculus further and further towards the circle he drew. “You. Are. Fake!” The Alchemist growled. “You’re not Goliath’s Clan-sister! You never were his Clan-sister, and you’ll never be her! This corpse is proof of that, and that’s why you’re afraid of it!”

“S-stay back!” Hyppoltya cried, trying to look intimidating but failing miserably. “I’m warning you!” Edward didn’t listen, continuing to walk with the corpse on hand. Hyppolyta screamed, running forward to attack, but she was much slower than before. As punishment, Edward took held the stone head with his left hand and punched Hyppoltya in the face with his automail hand, knocking her onto the transmutation circle.

Edward glared at Hyppoltya with such intensity that Goliath flinched. The sheer amount of hatred in his eyes… it reminded Goliath of Castaway… “You’re a mistake, Hyppoltya!” Edward shouted as the Homunculus tried and failed to stand up. “One that I’m going to correct!”

Edward slammed his hand down on the circle and the Flamel sigil activated with a brilliant blue light. Hyppoltya convulsed, pressing her arm to her stomach as she started to heave. She slammed her hands to her mouth, her eyes bulging and bloodshot as she tried in vain to keep herself from losing what was in her stomach. After a moment, she slammed her hands on the ground in front of her and vomited, spewing out spit and bile and blood with a ghastly gurgle.

“Oh my god!” Angela cried as the Homunculus kept retching on the floor. She gave another forceful heave, and this time the Gargoyles saw what looked like red gems escape from her mouth.

“Are those… stones?” Goliath asked.           

"Red Stones," Alphonse said. "They're incomplete Philosopher's Stones, made from a small number of human souls."           

"Those are souls?" Broadway gaped, as the Homunculus coughed up even more of them. When the stones hit the floor, they melted into pools of red liquid, seeping into the metal like blood.           

"That's the price that needs to be paid to keep a Homunculus stable," Alphonse said. "That's the price of Human Transmutation."

 With those last words from the armored Alchemist, Hyppoltya threw up her insides one more time, spattering blood, bile, and liquefied Red Stones everywhere. The light from the sigil faded, leaving only a gaping Gargoyle lying on the ground in her regurgitated fluids. She looked up at Edward, blood, and fluids dripping from her mouth.            

 Edward grunted as he glared Hyppoltya down, putting the stone head on the ground where she could still see it. “Not so tough without those stolen lives powering you, huh monster?”           

“Please…” Hyppoltya moaned. “Have mercy…”           

“Funny…” Edward said, gritting his teeth as he stomped to the Homunculus. “You didn’t seem very keen on sparing Brooklyn when the tables were turned…”           

“I’m sorry…” Hyppoltya weakly whispered. “Please… just let me go…”           

“Like said…” Edward said, his voice sharp and icy. “You’re a mistake that needs to be corrected.”           

Edward clapped his hands, the sound echoing throughout the room, and Hyppoltya glanced at Goliath. Their eyes met, and suddenly she started screaming. “You can’t let me die again, Goliath! Stop him please! I…!”           

Before she could finish her plea, Edward slammed his hands into her, once again filling the room with the light of Alchemy. It shined for a good minute before it faded, and Edward sauntered away. At first, Goliath thought that Hyppoltya was unharmed, but the look of mortification and pain on her face said otherwise.           

"What did you do?" Goliath demanded as Edward walked back to the group. Before Edward could reply, Goliath heard a cracking sound from Hyppoltya. He looked back to see that the Homunculus's arm was turning to dusty white stone, creeping up from her right hand and continuing from there.

 "I started a chain reaction that's turning her stone-like body into chalk," Edward said. "She's gonna petrify, and then fall apart into dust."

 "No…" Hyppoltya's cry was so soft Goliath almost didn't hear it. Then, as the chalk spread to her torso and leg, she screamed. "No, no, no, NO!" Hyppoltya grabbed her transforming hand with her flesh one, but the moment they made contact, the chalk hand fell apart. She looked at Goliath one last time, and Goliath's gut twisted from the sheer fear and misery in her violet eyes. "Please!" she pleaded desperately. "I don't want to go back in the dark again!  Please, Goliath! You can't let me die again! You can't…!"

 Hyppoltya's cry was cut short as her entire body turned to chalk, turning her into an ivory white statue without a hand. For a moment, she stayed like that, not moving or doing anything else. Then, cracks started to appear on her chest, spreading across her chalk body like cobwebs, before the statue crumbled apart before their very eyes, leaving a pile of white dust where it used to be. Edward kept staring at the white mound for a moment, and then a little bit longer.           

Nothing happened. There was no crimson lightning. No movement. Nothing.

 Edward sighed, wiping his sweating forehead in relief. "Is everyone okay…?" he said, looking over at the Gargoyles and his brother. The Alchemist paused when he saw the looks on their faces. They didn't look relieved like he had hoped. Angela looked horrified, Lexington and Broadway were a mix of anguish and confusion and Goliath…

 Goliath was furious. His eyes were burning white, and they were boring right into Edward as he stomped over to him growling.           

“You  _lied_ to me!" Goliath snarled, grabbing Edward by the collar before he could move and lifting him so he could glare at him face to face. "You said that it wasn't my Clan-sister!"           

“She wasn’t!” Edward yelled, not flinching at the huge Gargoyle’s fury. “It was just a shitty copy of her!”           

"She had her memories!" Goliath roared, and Edward saw that tears were streaming down the Gargoyle's face. "She said things that only my sister would have said!"

 "Of course she did!" Edward retorted. He knew he was harsh, but he needed to make Goliath understand. He'd feel better once he did. "I said that Homunculi are chemical copies of their original. That means her brain patterns are identical too, so of course, she would have some trace memories of the original! That doesn't mean she was actually her! Why do you think she cowered when she faced her corpse?!"           

 Goliath growled, throwing Edward down without much force and stepping back. He took a few deep breaths and the glow in his eyes faded. But there was still anger all over his face. “Even so… you didn’t have to destroy her in such a cruel fashion…”           

"Look, I didn't like that anymore than you did," Edward said, brushing himself off as he stood up. "But Homunculi are too dangerous to let run around. And you were in that fight! We were getting crushed when we didn't have her corpse around! Using it and the Flamel Transmutation was the only way we could have gotten out of that fight alive!"           

“Even so…” Angela whispered. “She was in so much pain… and she was so scared… She might have been trying to kill us, but she was still a Gargoyle…”           

Edward couldn’t stop his scoff. “She was a Homunculus, Angela. They’re good actors, but they don’t have souls. They aren’t real people.”           

“Liar…” someone hissed heatedly.           

Edward looked to see where the voice had come from, but to his surprise, it didn’t come from any of the Gargoyles or the human adults.           

It had come from Alphonse, who was staring at Edward with those ruby-like eyes in his helmet. The other Gargoyles might not have caught it, but Edward was familiar enough with the armor’s body language to tell that his brother was glaring at him.           

“Al?” Edward asked as his brother stomped towards him, the metal of the armor clanking with every step.           

“Are you saying that Wrath and his pain weren’t real, even though he cried when Teacher died and risked his life so I could be with you again?” Alphonse demanded. “Are you saying that Lust and her longing to be human again wasn’t real, even though she got killed trying to help us for it? Are you saying Greed wasn’t real, even though he told you how to beat the other Homunculi to spite them?” At this point, Alphonse shouting, his voice echoing in his armor as he loomed over Edward. “Are you saying that Sloth wasn’t real, even she called us her sons AS YOU KILLED HER?!?”

 "Al!" Edward shouted, his eyes wide with concern, fear, and anger. "What are you…?"           

“You keep saying they aren’t people, despite seeing evidence to the contrary time and time again!” Alphonse yelled. “They show you emotion, and you stick your fingers in your ears and insist they’re not there!” The armored boy pointed to the ivory dust inside the circle. “How many times does this have to happen before you see the truth?”           

“Al, what’s this about?” Edward asked.           

"She didn't have to die, Ed!" Alphonse replied, his voice starting to crack like a child's. "She still remembered us, and we could have gotten through! We both knew she existed when we found Wrath! I tried to talk to about it, but you brushed me aside like I was nothing! Like it didn't matter!" A sob echoed through the armor, something Goliath didn't even think was possible. "You even dug up her corpse behind my back… You didn't even talk to me about it… And when I had to face her, I was useless… She held me hostage, and when I decided to help you fight, it was already too late… we couldn't find another way…."           

“Al…” Edward said, the glare on his face long gone, replaced with a look of sorrow and remorse.           

“Just… why Ed…? We could have worked something out. We could have saved her… Why didn't you say anything to me…?”           

Tears started falling down Edward’s face. “I was just trying to protect you….” He whispered. “I’m sorry…”           

“Guys…” Elisa suddenly said. “I hate to interrupt but… is this really something you want to discuss in front of everyone?”           

Edward flinched like he got slapped in the face, and he turned to see that everyone else was staring at them.           

“And I thought the Gargoyles had issues…” Xanatos deadpanned, earning a glare from Elisa and Lexington.           

Goliath didn’t look angry anymore. Instead, there was something like sympathy and sadness in the warrior’s face. “You aren’t talking about Hyppoltya, are you?” he asked.           

Edward nodded. “Yeah…” he said sadly.

 "I see…" Goliath said. He stepped forward and to Edward's surprise, he placed his hand on Edward's shoulder. Edward looked up at the Goliath, and there was a gentleness in the colossal Gargoyle's face that the Alchemist didn't expect from someone so fierce looking. Goliath kept his hand on Edward for a moment, before taking it off and turning away.           

"Brooklyn and Hudson are injured," Goliath said. "Let's get them to the medical bay."

….           

Alphonse agreed to pick up Hudson, insisting he was strong enough in the armor to carry him. When the armored boy proved his strength by holding the old man on his back, Goliath went to Brooklyn and very tenderly cradled him, scooping the young Gargoyle in his arms like he was a child.           

“Goliath…” Brooklyn whispered, the pain impairing his voice. “I’m sorry…”           

“Rest…” Goliath gently ordered, looking down on his second-in-command fondly. “You’ve earned it.”           

The young Gargoyle sighed before closing his eyes. With that, the group made for the infirmary in silence.           

When they got there, Owen and Fox were waiting for them, unharmed. Resting on a hospital bed was Alphonse, or rather, Alphonse's human body. The top half of his clothes were removed, replaced with bandages that wrapped around him.            

“Al…” Edward began.           

“He’s fine” Owen interrupted. “He has several lacerations across his back, but his life is in no real danger.”           

“Good” Edward sighed in relief.           

Alphonse and Goliath put the unconscious Gargoyles on the beds next to Alphonse’s body. As Goliath bent up, he winced.           

"You're hurt too," Owen said, putting his hand on the Gargoyle's shoulder. "Go lie down too." 

 "Very well," Goliath replied. "But take care of Brooklyn and Hudson first."

 Owen worked in silence as he and Xanatos examined everyone. It took a while, but everyone got the assistance they needed. Besides, Alphonse's injuries, Goliath had a fractured leg and cuts at several points on his body and Hudson had a concussion, broken ribs, internal bleeding, and a fractured jaw. Brooklyn had the worst of it: deep lacerations from Hyppoltya's claws, a broken arm, a broken leg, fractured ribs, a concussion, several bruises all across the face, and a bruised vertebra. According to Xanatos, the other two Gargoyles would recover with just a day of stone sleep, but Brooklyn? It’d probably take him a week to fully recover.           

The worst part was that even after all that, even after Xanatos pretty much wrapped Brooklyn and Hudson up like mummies, he still would still say they got off lucky.           

Everyone else just had a few minor injuries, like scrapes and bruises. Edward did have the wounds that Jackal had given him when the fight began, but they were so insignificant that he honestly forgot they were there. Because of that, Edward insisted that he be the last one examined, much to Alphonse's chagrin.            

 As Owen finished taping down the last bandage and Elisa cleaned the last of the gore off of Goliath, Alphonse’s armor started to shake, drawing the attention of the Manhattan Clan.           

“Is he alright?” Angela asked worriedly.           

“I’m fine…” Alphonse said. “I’m just out of time in the armor…” With that, the light in the helmet’s eyes faded, and the armor crumpled to the floor, scattering its parts everywhere.           

 “Al!” Lexington screamed, only for a groaning to fill the room.           

“Please stop yelling….” Alphonse in his original body moaned.           

“You’re back!” Lexington cried out in joy, running to the boy’s bed.           

“I told you I never left…” Alphonse replied, managing a strained smile.           

“Are you alright, Al?” Edward asked, walking over to his brother’s side.

 "I'm fine, brother," Alphonse said. "My back hurts, but I'll be okay…"           

 “Heh” Edward smirked. “At least you can feel something now, huh?”           

 Alphonse chuckled at that. “Yeah, I guess so.”           

“So, the soul transference doesn’t harm you?” Xanatos asked. “You aren’t suffering from any side effects?”           

Alphonse shook his head. "No. Because of the way I set it up, the process is harmless. It just shortens my reaction time if I make multiple golems, and if I want to transfer my entire conscious like I did today, I must leave my body unconscious. It has to be like that. Otherwise, I might shorten my lifespan…"           

“Huh…” Xanatos wondered.           

“I’m just glad you aren’t too badly injured…” Goliath said, his voice heavy with melancholy.           

Alphonse looked at him, concerned. “Are you… feeling okay…?”           

Goliath didn’t answer, turning his gaze to his unconscious Clan members.           

Elisa walked to Goliath’s side and put her hand on his broad shoulder. “It’s not your fault, big guy…”           

Goliath gave a deep exhale through his nose. “I’m the leader, Elisa. What happens to my Clan  _is_ my responsibility… Perhaps Hyppolyta was right…”           

“What do you mean?” Lexington asked.           

“When I became leader, the Gargoyle who would become Hyppolyta spoke out against Hudson's decision. She thought that I wasn't fit to be the leader, that I was unwise and didn't think about my decisions. That I wasn't going to do what was best for the Clan." Goliath sighed again. "Tonight, Hyppolyta said that my foolishness led our Clan to ruin, that my lack of action towards our mistreatment was caused the Massacre. She even pointed out that my quest for vengeance against the Hunters is why humanity is afraid of us now… Can you really tell me that’s she’s wrong?”           

“Yes!” all the conscious Manhattan Clan cried without any hesitation.

“It was mother’s fault that our Clan was shattered, not yours!” Angela said. “You were doing everything you could to make peace!”

“But I didn’t do enough…” Goliath said. “And because of that, my brothers and sisters were killed…”

"But if you did all you could, that's exactly why it isn't your fault," Edward said, making Goliath and the others look at him.

“What was it that you said about Equivalent Exchange?” Goliath asked. “‘To obtain, something of equal value must be lost.’ If I lost my Clan, doesn’t that mean I didn’t put in the thing of equal value?”

At this, Edward burst into laughter, shocking the Gargoyles.

“Oh… I’m sorry.” Edward sputtered as he calmed down. “It’s just… you sound just like how I used to sound back in my world. I used to believe that the Law of Equivalent Exchange applied to everything in the universe. That if anyone put in enough effort, they could do anything. If something bad happened, it was on them. But after years of working in the military and actually seeing the world, I realized that Equivalent Exchange was great in Alchemy, but not so much outside it. Some spend their entire life trying to scratch their way to the top and still die in poverty while others are born into wealth without ever lifting an arm. Bad things happen to good people, and often times it’s not their faults. People can say there is a balance, a logic that everything happens for a reason. But the truth is far less desired.” Edward glanced down at his arm, saying “It’s a cruel and random world, and equal effort just doesn’t always equal gain.”

Edward turned his gaze back the hulking Gargoyle. “But that makes it all the more important to keep trying, no matter what. You can’t always succeed, you can’t always get you what you want, and you can’t always stop bad things from happening. But if you give it all you’ve got, you just might get something worth all the pain and leave the world a better place than you found it.”           

The room was silent as the Gargoyles processed Edward’s words. Then, Elisa started clapping. “Damn. I couldn’t have said it better myself, Edward…”           

For the first time in a while, Goliath gave a small smile. “You know, you’re very wise for someone so young…”           

 Edward gave a dismissive wave. “Eh, it’s just common sense I picked up in my travels. I’m sure you knew it already. My point was that you shouldn’t blame yourself for something you couldn’t control. You did the best you could. I know it still hurts but beating yourself up won’t change that.”           

“I know…” Goliath replied silently. “Still… I can’t help but wonder what would have happening I had just done something differently. And besides, Hyppolyta was entirely right when she said that my quest for vengeance against the Hunters led to the city hating us. If I had just left them alone, things wouldn’t have escalated as far as they did…”           

"Everyone makes mistakes, Goliath," Elisa said. "Frankly, I understand why you did what you did. They tried to murder Angela. Sure, bad things happened because of it, but there's nothing we can do about it now." Elisa placed her hand on Goliath's cheek, drawing the Gargoyle's eyes to hers. "We can fix this Goliath. We just need time…"           

“Elisa…” Goliath said warmly, putting his hand over hers. “Thank you…”           

 “I still can’t believe she did that Brooklyn and Hudson…” Broadway said, looking at the unconscious Gargoyles laying on the infirmary beds.           

“Yeah…” Edward agreed. “She banged them up really good.”           

“I’m not so worried about the  _physical_  injuries…” Goliath said, eyeing Brooklyn with concern. “She was even harsher to Brooklyn than she was to me…”           

“You’re telling me…” Edward growled. “Where the hell did she get off on calling him worthless?”           

“She said that?” Lexington asked, eyes bright with alarm.

 "Yup," Edward confirmed. "Said he didn't contribute to the Clan in any way, that he wasn't smart or strong enough to be useful, that he just made things worse for everyone, and that no one would cry over him if he died."           

 Broadway and Lexington’s eyes flared white. “That  _bitch!_ ” they both snarled.           

“Christ!” Edward cried, flinching at their sudden fury.           

After a second, their eyes went back to normal, but they were both still furious. "We should have been there…" Broadway said. "Maybe it wouldn't have gotten so bad…"

 "It was just words, guys," Edward said. "Brooklyn is tough. He'll get over it…"           

Broadway shook his head. “He is strong, much stronger than he gives himself credit for… but he’s not as tough as he likes to pretend he is. Honestly, out of the three of us, I think he’s the most sensitive...”           

Lexington nodded in agreement. "He definitely took the Massacre the worst. I mean, it was hard on all of us. The three of us only survived because Goliath sent us to the rookery under the castle for scaring the humans. Then the following night, we opened the doors to the courtyard to find the stone limbs and broken statues of our Clan everywhere. It's kinda funny. If we hadn't acted like idiots, we would've been there, with the rest of them…" Lexington gave a rueful chuckle. "I actually said that him, while we were flying to catch up to the people who murdered our Clan. Then, I said that maybe it would have better if one of our siblings who was stronger than me had misbehaved instead of me. I was crying, and I think Broadway was crying too…" Lexington smiled warmly, fangs protruding a bit from his lower lip. "He grabbed me by the arm, looked me dead in the eyes, and told me that I was fine just the way I was. That it wasn't a mistake that I had lived and not someone else. That yes, it was awful that we lost so many siblings, but because of that, we had live as well as we could to make sure they didn't die in vain. It shocked me that he had kept his cool so well that night, but it was also inspiring that he was able to be so strong… Even after our thousand-year sleep and we were reeling from being in a new world, he stayed calm and tried to help us adjust and enjoy it…"           

Lexington's face fell. "I found him one night alone in the corner of the courtyard. He was sobbing, sitting with his knees to his chest and his wings curled around himself. He wept to our fallen brethren that he was sorry, sorry that they had died and he had lived. Sorry that he wasn't strong enough to uphold the Gargoyle Way. Sorry that he was wasting the life he was given and how useless he was… It hit me then that Brooklyn had been hurting even more than Broadway and I was. He had just been bottling it up because he didn't want us to see him in pain." Lexington turned his forlorn gaze to the crimson Gargoyle on the hospital bed. "Maybe he just didn't want us to think less of him, but I think it's more likely that he thought it would hurt us even more…"           

 Alphonse’s eyes shifted towards his brother. “Sounds like someone I know….”           

Edward turned to make a retort but was interrupted by groaning from Brooklyn’s bed.           

“Well look who’s awake!” Edward grinned as Brooklyn opened his eyes.           

“Uhhh….” The red gargoyle groaned. “Am I dead…?”

 "No, but you gave it an effort," Goliath said, hobbling towards his second-in-command on his crutches. "You had us worried."           

“Huh” Brooklyn grunted. He turned to look at Edward, and the Gargoyle gave a tiny smile of gratitude. “You didn’t screw it up…”           

 Edward walked to Brooklyn's bed and ruffled the Gargoyle's wild silver hair. It felt surprisingly like silk to Edward's hand. "Of course, I didn't! What sort of second-rate Alchemist would I be if I couldn't kill a Homunculus?" Edward stepped back, only to be confused when he saw Brooklyn's cheeks were even redder than usual. Was… was he blushing?           

Edward turned his gaze to find that the other Gargoyles staring at him. “Why are you all looking at me like that?”           

“Edward, stroking hair is how Gargoyles show affection for their mates…” Goliath explained.           

Edward’s brain skipped a record. “Huh?”           

“It’s how they kiss, stupid” Fox said.           

Immediately, Edward's cheeks burned in embarrassment, and there was laughter from everyone in the room. 

“Wow!” Alphonse gasped between bursts of laughter. “Ed’s never kissed anyone before!”           

“Shut it, Al!” Edward screamed, before turning on Brooklyn. “Why didn’t you say anything?”           

“Me?” Brooklyn retorted. “What sort of weirdo just goes up and strokes an injured person’s hair?”           

There was a raspy chuckle, and everyone turned to see Hudson laughing through his bandages. "It means you're a charming lad, Brooklyn." He said. "You should be flattered!"           

 The Gargoyles gathered around their elder as Goliath gently clapped Hudson on the shoulder. “Nice to see you in good spirits, old friend.”           

“Aye, how can I not?” Hudson said. “We’re all still living.”           

“Yes…” Goliath nodded, turning to look at the Elric brothers. “Edward… Alphonse… thank you for helping me protect my Clan…”           

Alphonse gave a bashful laugh. “No need to thank us. We were just doing the right thing.”           

Edward nodded. “It was nothing, Goliath.” Then, Edward’s face fell. “Besides… I’m not sure if you should thank me for what I did back there…”           

Goliath walked forward and gently put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Edward… I know I behaved rather harshly back in the Atrium. For a moment, I thought that that doll was actually my former Clan-sister.”           

“Goliath…” Edward began, but Goliath ignored him.           

“But when I thought about it, I remembered that, even on her worst day, my Clan-sister loved her family and her castle. She’d bicker with me and Hudson and Brooklyn, but she’d never on her life hurt us. The creature may have worn her face, and maybe even had some memories implanted on her, but it wasn’t her. And though she may have been a person in her own right, she was still trying to kill us all without mercy.”           

Goliath kneeled on his right leg so that he could see the short Alchemist eye to eye. "We Gargoyles believe that premeditated murder is always wrong but killing in the heat of battle isn't a crime. What you did unfortunate, but I know that you didn't do it lightly. You did it to protect yourself and those that you cared about. I can't fault you for that."           

Edward stared into the Gargoyle’s eyes for a moment, drinking in his words. Then he sighed. “About that…”           

 Goliath cocked his head in confusion. “About what…?”

 Edward sat down on the bed across from Alphonse. "About Homunculi being their own person… there's something we should probably tell you…"           

Goliath stood up, like the rest of the Clan how could stand gathered near. "We're listening…"           

Edward sighed again, looking at his brother as if to say  _Are you ready?_            

Alphonse nodded, his face serious, and began for his brother. “As Edward told you, he and I committed the taboo and performed Human Transmutation.”           

Alphonse’s turned his gaze to the ceiling as he let the memories flow over him. “We lived with our mother in a farming town called Resembool. Dad left us when we were very young, but he made sure to leave enough money so we could live.”

 Edward growled at that. "That damn bastard didn't consider how it would affect mom. She tried to put on a happy face and take care of us, but it was hard raising two troubling making kids alone. The only time that she seemed happy for real was when Alphonse and I showed her Alchemy. Looking back, it was probably because we reminded her of dad…"            

Alphonse gave a weary sigh. “When Edward turned ten, a plague hit the country. It scared us, but we thought everything would be alright in the end. It didn’t affect us after all. Then, one day, mom collapsed in front of the house.”           

“She died of the illness, didn’t she?” Xanatos interrupted, earning the glares of the Gargoyles and Elisa.

 Alphonse nodded in response, his brown eyes starting to waver. "We didn't even know she had it. She had been hiding how bad she felt just like she always did. The last thing she said on her death bed was to ask us to transmute flowers for her. Like Dad used to…"           

“That’s awful…” Angela said, her hand over her heart in sympathy.

 "After her funeral, we swore we'd bring her back." Edward continued. "We doubled our efforts in learning Alchemy, even getting a mentor to teach us. After that, we researched on our own for a year. Then, one night in February 1910, we performed the transmutation." Edward looked down at the ground, a wistful look in his golden eyes. "We had it all figured out. All we needed was the chemical ingredients for an average adult. 35 liters of water. 25 kilograms of carbon. 4 liters of ammonia. 1.5 kilograms of lime. 800 grams of phosphorous. 250 grams of salt. 100 grams of saltpeter. 80 grams of sulfur. 7.5 grams of fluorine. 5 grams of iron. 3 grams of silicon. And trace amounts of other elements. We just needed to transmute all of that perfectly, and we'd get to see our mother's smile again…"           

 “The transmutation was a failure.” Alphonse bluntly stated. “We were dragged to the Gate of Truth, and it punished us for our arrogance. It showed us things… horrible things… things about the universe we never wanted to know. Then, it took Edward’s leg and my entire body. When he got back to the physical world, Edward used his blood as a seal and sacrificed his arm, so my soul would bound to a suit of armor. That way, I still had a presence in the physical world. As for our mother, she didn’t come back. The thing that we produced couldn’t be called human and was only alive in the most basic sense. When we came back after Edward stopped bleeding from his dismemberment, the thing we made was gone. We assumed it went off and died somewhere while we were gone.

“But it didn’t, did it?” Brooklyn presumed.

 Edward nodded. "A corrupt Alchemist named Dante found it and thinking it would be useful to her, feed it Red Stones. As we mentioned before, Red Stones are condensed human souls, so that gave it the energy to make a proper body. A body identical to our mothers…"           

“Why would she go after you?” Angela asked.

 "It's complicated," Edward said. "When Homunculi form, they're often bitter at the one who made them because they don't have a soul and feel incomplete. It really didn't help that Dante was a manipulative bitch. She probably brainwashed her into hating us."           

"It really didn't help that she ate those Red Stones," Alphonse added. "It seems they decrease the mental stability of the ones who consume them. One Homunculus we met was perfectly docile at first if a little… creepy. Then Envy fed him Red Stones and he immediately turned psychotic…"            

“So… those stones make them evil?” Broadway asked.           

"It's definitely a factor," Edward said. "Anyway, Dante named the Homunculus ‘Sloth'…"           

“‘Sloth?’” Fox wondered. “As in the sin?”           

“Yeah” Edward replied. “There were seven Homunculi, and Dante named them after the Seven Deadly Sins…”

 "A woman named Dante leading creatures named after sins," Xanatos said. "How appropriate."            

“Just out of curiosity…” Lexington said. “You said every Homunculus you met had different powers…”

 "Yes," Alphonse responded. "Lust could stretch out her fingers and turn them into blades that could cut through anything. Gluttony's teeth and digestive acid were so strong he could eat anything. Greed could rearrange the carbon bonds in his body to make an armor harder than diamond. Wrath could merge his body with any matter, taking on its properties. Envy could shape shift into the form of any person or animal, and even change parts of his body into crude weapons. Pride had an eye that gave him incredible perceptive abilities, to the point he could see air currents and predict incoming blows. And Sloth…" Alphonse paused for a moment before finishing. “Sloth could turn her body into water. She could shape her watery body as she wished, forming tentacles to grab things and fit into the smallest of places, and bullets and swords just passed right through her. She wasn’t that different from Hyppolyta in that regard…”

 "Anyway" Edward continued. "We didn't know about Sloth's existence until much later when we learned that Homunculi existed and how they were made. She was literally hiding right in plain sight, passing herself off as the Furher's secretary while she did Dante's dirty work. At the time, Al and I were searching for a way to put our bodies back to normal. We thought that the Philosopher's Stone would do the trick… and then we found out that making one would mean sacrificing thousands of people. Worse, Dante was manipulating our country through the Homunculi, starting wars and staging genocides so people would become desperate enough to make the Philosopher's Stone for her…"           

Goliath’s eyes flared white. “What reason could this Dante possibly have for murdering her own countrymen?”

 "Immortality," Alphonse replied. "By using the Philosopher's Stone, Dante could swap souls with a younger body, increasing her lifespan. She was willing to kill as many people as she needed, even millions, if it meant she could live another day…"

 "When we caught wind of her plans, we tried to stop the Stone from being made," Edward said, voice wavering with guilt. "We… failed. Sloth revealed herself to me and stopped me from getting to where I needed to go. Seven-thousand soldiers were murdered to make a Philosopher's Stone."

 "My God…" Elisa whispered. 

"It gets worse," Edward said. "The person who activated the transmutation bound the Arrays to Alphonse's armor body, effectively turning  _him_ into the Philosopher’s Stone. So we ran away from the military. If we couldn’t stop her from making the Stone, we could keep it away from her until we figured out how to stop her. But Dante sent the Homunculi and the rest of the military after us. I knew that I’d have to fight Sloth again, and if I wasn’t prepared, she’d kill me and take Al to Dante. So…”

Edward took a shaky sigh, looking down at the ground so that no one could see his eye. "When we went back to our hometown to hide… I went to my mother's grave and dug up her corpse. I… didn't tell Al about it…"

“Why not?” Elisa asked. “She was his mother too.”

"Yeah, but it was my fault we were in that situation." Edward bitterly retorted. "I'm the one who talked him into Human Transmutation. It was my fault he lost his body and Sloth was born. I had already hurt him enough. I didn't want to have him help me defile our mother's grave too…"

Alphonse looked at his brother with sad eyes, and he put his hand on Edward's shoulder. "Ed… we've talked about this over and over. I decided to help you transmute her. I  _chose_. It’s not your responsibility to shoulder all the blame for our mistake…”

“I know we’ve talked about it…” Edward sighed, gripping his brother’s hand. “But… it feels like it’s my responsibility. I was supposed to protect you, Al. But I failed over and over again…”

“What do you mean by that?” Brooklyn croaked from his bed. “I know you both performed Human Transmutation, but you’re both here now, right? So, you protected him.”

Edward shook his head. “Sure, we’re both here now, but back then… I underestimated Sloth. I thought her anger was just directed at me, but she hated Al just as much.”

"She cornered me when I was alone," Alphonse said, his voice sullen and morose. "She… talked to me like mom used to. In the back of my mind, I knew something was wrong, but… I was so happy. I wanted to believe that our transmutation had worked. That all our pain and sacrifice had meant something. That Mom was back from the dead. Even if she wasn’t really her, we still created her. She was our responsibility. So, I listened to her, ready to let her take me where she wanted. Fortunately, Edward got there just in time and stopped her. But I made things difficult. I tried to tell him that Sloth was Mom, but he wouldn’t listen. He showed Sloth the bone he took from Mom’s body and used the Flamel Sigil to bring her lives down to one. Before he could kill her, I took the bone from Ed and threw it out the window.”

“Then…” Edward said. “Everything went to hell. Wrath, the Homunculus child absorbed the remains of mom into his body, preventing me from using them. Without that weakness, Sloth was too powerful, even when she was brought down to one life. It didn’t help that Al was actively working against me for half the fight. By time Alphonse started fighting Sloth, she put herself inside Al’s armor and tried to force him to go to Dante. And then when I forced her out, she... said things.”

 “Such as…?” Xanatos asked.

“She said that she  _did_ remember that we were her sons," Alphonse said. "That she was our mother. Those memories caused her pain because they were forced on her. She didn't want to bear any relation to the woman who died to wait for a husband who never came back. She said she ‘didn't have the energy' to accept her human identity. So, to prove to herself she wasn't our mother, she had to kill us. After all, what parent would kill their own kids…"

“What…?” Angela said in disbelief. “That’s why she wanted to kill you? Because she didn’t want to deal with her own feelings?”

“Perhaps the name Sloth was rather appropriate…” Goliath muttered. The Gargoyle leader looked back at the brothers. “So, she tried to kill her family over the painful memories of the person she was supposed to become. Just like Hyppolyta…”

Edward nodded. “We almost didn’t make it. Her watery powers made her invulnerable to all my attacks. She had us completely at her mercy. But then, Wrath came into the room, and to protect Sloth from me, he used his powers to combine their bodies. But in his haste, he forgot that he had just absorbed Mom’s remains into his body. After they combined, Sloth couldn’t even move, and it was all over. I just walked up to her like I had all the time in the world and transmuted her body in ethanol.”

Edward paused when he got blank stares from the Gargoyles. “Alcohol?” he clarified. “It evaporates at room temperature…”

“So, you turned her into mist” Goliath concluded. “And she vanished.”

“Yeah…” Edward said. “But… before she died… she smiled at us, just like Mom used to. She said, ‘Nicely down, sweetheart. Clean up after yourselves and take care of each other…’ Then just like that, she was gone…”

Edward wiped his face as he looked back up at the Gargoyles, his breath stuttering as he finished. “Until that moment, I kept telling myself that Homunculi weren’t the people that were supposed to come back. That they were mistakes, aberrations of nature that were never meant to be. They didn’t even have souls, so it didn’t matter if I killed them. They weren’t people. But, after Sloth said her final words… I wasn’t sure of any of that anymore…”

Edward took a shaky breath. "Maybe Homunculi are new people that just have the memories they do as a result of being biological copies of another person. Maybe they actually are the person we meant to bring back, but the process of bringing them back from the dead made them incomplete. Maybe the entire reason they acted like sociopaths was the Red Stones they ate and Dante's conditioning. Or maybe they really just don't have souls and can simply mimic emotions from the memories they have. I don't know, Goliath. I didn't know back then either, and it scared me. My brother was in danger, the fate of my country was at stake, and on top of everything else, I might have killed my own mother…" A sob escaped from Edward's throat, and to Edward's shame, tears started to fall from his eyes. "So, I put it all into the back burner. I told myself that Homunculi weren't people, that they had no souls or any relation to the people that they once were, because if I told myself otherwise, and had still done what I did, then that would have made me a bigger monster than any of them…"

Edward stopped talking as the Manhattan Clan stared at him mortified, absorbing what was just said.

“Holy hell, Edward…” Brooklyn breathed. “That’s…. my God….”

“I’m not even sure what I can say to all of that…” Broadway said.

“That’s… just too horrible…” Angela said, her voice a low whisper. “I’m so sorry…”

"There's nothing to be sorry for Angela," Edward replied. "It is what it is…"

Goliath kept his gaze at Edward, his expression unreadable to the Alchemist. Then, the Gargoyle walked to Edward’s bed at took a seat next to the boy, not taking his eyes off him.

"It seems you weren't lying when you said you've lost people," Goliath said, his voice gently with sympathy.

"Not the same thing, Goliath," Edward said. "You lost your entire Clan. Al and I just lost our mother. Sure, she meant the world to us, but it's not in the same league."

“It’s not wise to compare loss like a mathematician, Edward.” Hudson croaked from his bed. “It’s may not be the same, but it still hurt you just as much… and I’m fairly certain you’re leaving out a lot of other misfortune.”

“You aren’t wrong…” Edward replied. “But that’s still not comparable. What happened to your Clan wasn’t your fault.”

“So?” Elisa questioned. “What happened to your mother wasn’t your fault either.”

“But we chose to transmute her…” Alphonse muttered solemnly.

“You were children,” Goliath said, looking at the younger Alchemist with soft eyes. “You still  _are_ children. You were in mourning, and you just wanted your loved one back, just like all of us at one time felt. You couldn’t have known the consequences that would result.”

“But Sloth…” Edward began.

"I don't have the answers for that," Goliath said. "I can't tell you what the true nature of the Homunculi are any more than you can tell me. But what I do know is that you were trying your best to protect yourself and your brother in a terrible situation. The odds were against you, so you had to do whatever you could to scrape by." Goliath put his hand on Edward's shoulder again. "Edward, what you had to do was horrible, but that doesn't make  _you_ horrible. I haven’t known you for very long, but from what I’ve seen of you tonight, you and your brother are among the most courageous and selfless humans I’ve ever met. Had more humans been like you back in Scotland, perhaps things might have been different for our Clan…”

Edward blushed as he wiped the tears from his eyes. “I… um…. I’m not sure what to say… Thank you, Goliath…”

“If that was all you needed to hear, you probably just needed to see a therapist.” Xanatos quipped, earning another glare from the Gargoyles.

But to their surprise, Edward chuckled. “You’re probably right that I need to see one, but when I arrived in this world, I told people about Amestris. Quite frankly, I’m lucky I didn’t end up in a mental ward….”

“How did you end up in this world anyway?” Brooklyn asked. “I know you said you went through the Gate, but…”

Edward gave a brief sigh like he was about to rip off a splinter. "Long story short, despite our best effort, the other Homunculi still managed to kidnap Alphonse right from under me. I tracked them down to an underground city where I fought them and their master, Dante, and got killed for my troubles."

Edward saw the looks of shock and confusion on everyone’s faces, and he couldn't stop himself from laughing, earning a slap in the back of the head from Alphonse.

“You didn’t  _die_.” The younger brother said. “You just got stabbed in the heart and  _almost_ died.”

“Right, right…” Edward said as he got his laughter under control. “Big difference…”

“That doesn’t make it better, Ed!” Brooklyn exclaimed.

Edward ignored him. "So, after I got stabbed, Al used the Philosopher's Stone to fix my body and give me my arm and leg back. As a result, Alphonse's soul vanished behind the Gate. When I came to… I just couldn't accept it. The entire reason I did everything I did was for Al's sake, and it was my fault he suffered so much. If anyone deserved to be there, he did. So, I transmuted myself and offered my life to the Gate. My mind, body, and soul for Al's. But when the Gate took me… I ended up in this world, alive and with my metal arm and legs, unable to perform Alchemy. In exchange, Alphonse returned to Amestris alive, with his human body, but without any memories of the time he was in the armor."

Alphonse nodded. "All I remembered was us trying to transmute Mom and then waking up in the underground city. The four years in between that were a complete blank. All I knew was that my brother was gone because of me, and I wanted him back. So spent the next three years looking, asking everyone what we did and revisiting places we've been for clues. Eventually, I figured out that there was another world behind the Gate, and I just needed to find a way to open it and pass through. I succeeded, and now here I am. Like Edward, I lost my Alchemy, but in return, I regained the memories of the four years I spent in the armor. From there… well, you know the rest…"

“Well…” Elisa sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “You two are, without question, some of the biggest hot messes masquerading as people I have ever come across.” The detective’s eyes swept across the room, looking at all the Gargoyles, the Xanatos family, and Owen. “And you have some  _stiff_ competition.”

"You two collect emotional traumas like David collects quarters," Fox added with a knowing smirk. "You'll fit right in here in Castle Wyvern."

Alphonse sighed. “So, what’re we going to do now?”

“You’re going to lay down and rest until your injuries have healed.” Owen curtly replied, adjusting his glasses. “You aren’t in any condition to be running about so soon.”

“I know that, but what about after?” Alphonse said, looking at Edward. “Edward and I are still new to this time, and we don’t have anywhere to go. And we still aren’t sure what Titania wants us to do…”

“What, so it wasn’t helping us kill a nigh-immortal monster?” Brooklyn retorted sardonically.

"I think Titania would have shown up by now if that were the case," Edward said. "Something tells me she has eyes everywhere…"

"In any case, we need a place to stay," Alphonse said. "And a means to support ourselves."

"You could always stay here in the castle," Lexington suggested with a smile. "It's not like there isn't any room."

Edward shifted unsurely. “I… we can’t say yes to that. We don’t want to intrude…”

“Aye, it’d be nothing lad!” Hudson called from his bed. “Back in the day, this castle held three times as many Gargoyles as there are now, and even more humans! Two more little men would be nothing…”

Edward felt a vein start to boil. “Did you just call me ‘little’…?”

"But we'll still need a job though…" Alphonse said before Edward could blow up. "Are there any universities to that need jobs? Or maybe some scientific facilities...?"

At that, Xanatos’ lips spread into a thin, calculating smile. “Well, if you want to work in science… perhaps, the two of you could come to an arrangement with me…”

“Oh, shit…” Elisa sighed. “Here it comes…”

"The two of you have displayed immense understand of chemistry and physics during the fight," Xanatos said, ignoring Elisa. "Perhaps with some training and a little bit of education, I could offer you a job in my company's Science and Engineering department…"

Edward looked at him doubtfully. “What’s the catch?”

"Well, I'll let you live here and earn your living under me," Xanatos said. "In return, I want you to use your Alchemy to aid my company with producing quality products and inventing new technology. We've already done so much with just our own skills and robotics. I can't imagine what we could do if we had the power to restructure matter at an atomic level."

Edward turned to the Gargoyles. “On a scale of one to ten, who trustworthy is he?”

"Nota," Elisa said with a shake of her head.

"Piece of shit," Brooklyn growled.

“Terrible” Lexington muttered.

"I trust him enough not to smash us in our sleep," Goliath replied. "But only because he sees us as useful."

Edward looked at them, and then to Xanatos, and then sighed. "Ah, what the hell." He said, offering his automail hand. "In Amestris, I was a dog of the military. This would be far from the first time I've sold my soul to the Devil…"

"You insult me, kid," Xanatos replied, smirking as he took Edward's hand and shook it. "The Devil comes to  _me_ for advice.”

Edward grunted, looking back to Alphonse. “You in on this, Al?”

Alphonse nodded. “I’m right behind you, brother.”

"Great!" Xanatos exclaimed cheerfully and clapped his hands. "I'll write up the contracts right away!" With that, he went out of the room.

"You should probably leave," Owen said. "The patients need to rest."

“Right…” Edward said. With that, he went over to his brother and wrapped in a one-armed hug. “I come back and see you in a bit, okay?”

“Okay…” Alphonse replied. “We’ll talk later…”

Edward nodded, and then looked back at Hudson and Brooklyn. “So you two will be fine once the sun comes up, right?”

"Aye, lad," Hudson replied. "No need to worry about us. We're not Homunculi, but we still heal faster than you humans. We'll be fine after we rest…"

“Good.”

“Ummm… Edward…?” Brooklyn said, fumbling his fingers awkwardly as he spoke.

“Yeah?” Edward asked.

"I…" the red Gargoyle blushed again, and it looked so subtle against his crimson cheeks, Edward almost didn't notice. "I just wanted to say… thank you… for everything. Hate to admit it, but you really saved our asses today…"

Edward blinked at the sudden expression of gratitude. Then he smiled. “Again, no need to thank me. In fact, I should probably be thanking you for saving  _my_  ass at the beginning of the fight.”

Brooklyn nodded. “If you say so…”

"Get some rest, you two," Goliath said to his Clan-mates. "You've earned it." At that, Goliath and the rest of the Clan left the room, with Edward following behind.

When he got the door, Edward gave a lazy wave at the Gargoyles on the bed, saying “Look forward to saving your ass many more times from now on.”

Edward walked out the door, smirking when he heard an indignant “Fuck you!” from Brooklyn.

When the Alchemist caught up to the others, he gave a loud yawn. "Goddamn, I need a nap…"

“I’ll show to one of the guest rooms.” Angela offered. “You can sleep there.”

“Thanks…” Edward yawned again.

“Hey, Ed…” Elisa asked. “You said that a Homunculus is created by an Alchemist, right?”

“Yeah…” Edward said. “I just spend the last ten minutes poring my heart out to guys over it…”

Elisa rolled her eyes at the teen’s sarcasm. “What I’m asking is, who made Hyppotlya?”

Edward stopped in his tracks at Elisa's question, thinking it over for a minute. "It would have to be someone who was from our world. An Alchemist how knew how to stabilize Homunculi and produce Philosopher's Stones. Someone really skilled and powerful at Alchemy, and someone who somehow was able to find another power source like Alphonse and me."

“Any ideas about who that could be?” Elisa asked.

Edward shook his head. "No…"

….

The sound of glass shattering filled the office of the Quarrymen. Castaway jumped, turning around to see that Mr. Flamel had suddenly dropped his teacup, breaking it and splattering tea all over the floor. The Alchemist was gripping his wrist, looking down at the carpet with wavering eyes.

“Impossible…” he whispered. “They killed her…”

"What do you mean?" Castaway asked, but before he could answer, the door to the office was hastily unlocked and was slammed open from the outside.

“Sir!” a man in black Quarrymen hood gasped. “The mission was a failure!”

“What?!” Castaway shouted, stomping over and grabbing the henchman by the shirt. “What do you mean?”

“We were defeated!” the man cried. “The Gargoyles were too strong for our men!”

“What about the Homunculus?” Castaway growled.

“They figured out her true nature before she could attack. She wounded them, but she was killed!”

Castaway turned his glare to Flamel. “You told me that she would win, Alchemist!”

Flamel ignored the screaming businessman and looked at the Quarryman recruit inquisitively. “Did the Gargoyles have help?”

The recruit nodded. “Mr. Xanatos helped them. His castle was full of robotic defenses that weakened her. There were also two strange children. They used some sort of magic…”

“Magic?” Castaway asked.

"Yes! They would clap their hands and the walls and the floor would change shape with a flash of light! They even made weapons and armor out of the stone of the castle! Then they showed the Homunculus a stone head, and she just froze!"

“Alchemists…” Flamel surmised. “And they knew her weakness… They must be very knowledgeable…” Flamel stood up from his chair and clapped his hands. “Well then…”

Flamel placed his hand on the ground, and there was a flash of blue light. Castaway watched in awe as the floor broke apart and reshaped itself particle by particle, forming a thin blade that was then covered by a sheath with engravings of a serpent wrapping around itself. When the light faded, Flamel was holding a cane, and he thumped it on the ground.

"It seems we lacked some information, Castaway," Flamel said, his lips stretching into a sinister grin. "What do you say we pay the higher echelons of our organization a visit?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, it's done. One of my goals when I was writing this story was for the brothers and the Gargoyle to bond and relate to each other over the hardships and loss they endured.  
> This was partially inspired by an issue I had with the original cartoon. Don't get me wrong, I love the show, but one thing that always bothered me was that we never really dived into how the Massacre affected the other Clan members besides Goliath and Demona. It was very lightly touched upon, but it wasn't really explored very much. Instead, the show focused on the Trio forming rivalries with people who slighted them in the present. This wasn't bad, but I still wished it was explored. Think about it, the Manhattan Clan lost their Clan in one night and found the castle littered with their dismembered corpses. Then, they're put into a magic sleep and wake up 1000 years later in modern New York, completely alone and in a strange and scary new world. And yet none of them besides Goliath (and even in his case, it was lightly touched upon) went through the mourning or survivors guilt one would expect after such trauma. I'm not saying I wanted them to wangst about it and I know at the end of the day it's a family action-adventure show... but something would have been nice...  
> As a result, I sort of have a head canon that the Massacre actually did screw up the Gargoyles, especially the Trio, more than we saw onscreen and wanted to portray some of that. At the time, I was rewatching FMA 2003, which in my opinion, handles angst and survivor's guilt very well. I especially found the final fight with Sloth, who was a representation of Edward's past mistakes and grief, very poignant. I got to the ending where Ed ending up in our world, had a fleeting fancy of Edward not being in our world exactly, but a world like our but in a magical urban fantasy setting... and this laid the ground work for this idea.  
> I hope you all enjoyed this side project. When I'm eventually finish with either Melodies of Love or The Element of Substance, I might do more work on it. Have great night!


End file.
